Podcasts
Uncrossing the Controversy Surrounding ‘Basic Instinct’ [Halloweenies Podcast]
It’s the ’90s. Hollywood stars are hotter than ever, particularly Michael Douglas. The Oscar-winning producer and actor is in search of his next chapter after owning the latter half of the ’80s. He’s found it in a new erotic thriller from scribe Joe Eszterhas (Flashdance, Jagged Edge) and filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall). Together, they grab a chair in a low-lit sweat box of male testosterone with sex on the mind and money to make.
The film? Basic Instinct. The twist? Sharon Stone runs away with it.
For the latest installment of this season’s Randy’s Recs, which finds the Halloweenies dissecting a film that inspired the Scream franchise, the gang heads to San Francisco to try and solve a string of murderers. Make no mistake, these are grisly crimes, sure, but they’re also familiar, especially for readers of crime novelist Catherine Tramell. It would appear the blood beyond the yellow tape matches what anyone can find in any one of her books.
Sound familiar? If Scream 3 comes to mind, you’re not alone. Join the Halloweenies as they discuss the smutty film’s curious parallels to Wes Craven’s meta franchise, the myriad controversies that surrounded the 1992 thriller, the behind-the-scenes chaos that would go on to fuel the film, the sexual fluidity (or lack thereof) of Douglas, and the blockbuster sex appeal of Sharon Stone. Special guest includes Bloody Disgusting‘s own Meagan Navarro!
So, light up a cigarette, hide your icepick, and join the gang now via iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, 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, and Friday the 13th. You can also become a member of their Patreon for hilarious commentaries and one-off episodes.
Aaliyah Innocent.
May was a busy subgenre-switching month. After kicking things off with disaster “slasher” The Poseidon Adventure (listen), we watched American Giallo The Fan (listen), then wrapped things up with Vincent Price’s horror comedy Theater of Blood (listen).
Now, in honor of Pride Month and the return of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire (renamed The Vampire Lestat for S03), Trace and I had to check out the straight-washed second attempt to bring Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles to life.
Back in 2002, director Michael Rymer pitched Hollywood on his vision for Rice’s second Chronicle book, The Vampire Lestat. Instead, the suits opted to adapt the third book, Queen of the Damned (likely due to the ancillary opportunities of the soundtrack, written entirely by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis).
In the film, Lestat (Stuart Townsend) awakens from slumber to reinvent himself as a leather-pant-wearing rocker. Lestat’s very public vampire persona attracts the attention of Talamasca novice Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), as well as the vampire’s maker Marius (Vincent Perez). But the nu-metal has the greatest impact on Akasha (Aaliyah), who awakens and promises to take over the world if her old foe Maharet (Lena Olin) doesn’t stop her.
Whose side will Lestat join? Will Marius help his fledgling or abandon him to public sacrifice? And does anyone actually care about Jesse? (Please note: that last question is rhetorical.)
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 389: Queen of the Damned (2002)
Practice your Egyptian accent and bare that midriff because we are talking the troubled “adaptation” of Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned (2002).
Directed by Australian Michael Rymer, this one was doomed by the suits before it was even greenlit (which happened AFTER all of the songs were written by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis). It’s a bit of a clusterfuck.
Plus: praising everything Aaliyah (RIP); critiquing everything Stuart Townsend (aside from his abs and leather pants); a soft queer reading of Marius; and bemoaning boring protagonist/audience surrogate JESSE.
Cross out Queen of the Damned!
Coming Up Next: We’re tackling Ben Stiller’s horror-adjacent dark comedy The Cable Guy (1996), in anticipation of its 30th anniversary!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 495 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.