Podcasts
Unpacking Nihilism, Sexual Assault and Ripley in ‘Alien 3’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Uno, Dos, Trace.
It’s been a wild month of threes, but after Scream 3, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth and Psycho III, the fun had to stop somewhere. Turns out that’s Alien 3, the nihilistic third entry in the xenomorph franchise that has one of the most troubled production histories we’ve ever seen. Thankfully we have guest Sade Sellers to help us unpack what was originally intended to be Ripley’s swan song.
The feature debut from David Fincher finds sole survivor Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crashing onto a nearly deserted prison colony filled solely with men. Aside from kind (and sexy!) doctor Clemons (Charles Dance) and hesitant preacher Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), Ripley doesn’t get a very warm welcome from the prisoners.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Alien film if her eternal nemesis didn’t show up. As the Alien makes quick work of the weaponless men, it’s up to Ripley to kill the creature before the Company, fronted by Lance Henriksen, arrive to pick up their biological weapon…or before she expires from the Alien queen gestating within her chest.
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Episode 110 – Alien 3 (1992) feat. Sade Sellers
Our month of 3s comes to a close with David Fincher’s Alien 3 (1992), which may take the prize for most convoluted production history. Here to help us make sense of the Assembly Cut (not the theatrical cut) is returning guest Sade Sellers (see the previous episode, Orphan), who has issues with the film’s treatment of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and sexual assault (content warning!)
Plus: our secret connections to the number three, the xenomorph as drag queen, the differences between the theatrical and assembly cuts and Charles S. Dutton as a sacrificial lamb. Also: Joe’s love of Charles Dance, confusion over “womb stuff,” and why Fincher needs to get over his hatred of his directorial debut.
Cross out Alien 3!
Coming up on Wednesday: The start of February means we’re celebrating my birthday early with a bizarro slice of Canadian genre cinema in Vincenzo Natali’s Splice (2009). CW: sexual assault and child & animal abuse.
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! In February we have minisodes on Religious Horror and a ranking of the Wrong Turn franchise, plus full length episodes on Willy’s Wonderland and Saint Maud. Finally, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ve got an audio commentary on My Bloody Valentine (2009).
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.