Podcasts
‘Climax’s Mad Dancing Descent Into Hell [Horror Queers Podcast]
Trace and I are closing in on the end of our “underrated or underseen” theme. After spending February looking at films from 2016 – 2018, including Aussie coming-of-age film Boys in the Trees, Darren Aronofsky’s allegory-heavy mother! and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s controversial Assassination Nation, we’re now up to 2019.
And we’ve <gulp> decided to tackle our first film by French troll Gaspar Noé: 2019’s Climax. Thankfully we have an expert in guest Matt Cipolla who can help us to parse out the meaning of this “more complicated than it appears” film.
Starring Sofia Boutella, Climax follows a dance troupe on the eve of a big tour as they run through their number one last time before kicking back and partying. Unbeknownst to them, the sangria they’re celebrating with has been spiked with LSD, which means nearly half of the film’s runtime is a “real time” depiction of 24 individuals as they go on a really bad trip, hook up and beat each other up.
Oh, and did we mention that really uncomfortable child death in an electrical closet? (At least the lengthy dance sequences are gorgeous!)
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Episode 167 – Climax (2019)
Put on your spandex, avoid the sangria and stay out of the electrical closet because this week’s “under rated or underseen” entry is Gaspar Noé’s Climax (2019). Joining us on this (acid) trip is writer Matt Cipolla, who brings a wealth of Noé knowledge, as well as nihilist philosophy like E. M. Cioran’s aphorisms.
We discuss Noé as a troll and why the film is (or isn’t?) political and racist, as well as the unorthodox & collaborative production, child murder and more than a few drug stories.
Plus: why Trace will never watch this again, speculation about who lives and dies, and the comfort of rewatching the dance sequences.
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our “Underrated or Underseen?” theme by unlocking the Patreon vault to discuss 2019’s gay period horror film Spiral!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 165 hours of additional content! This month, we’re discussing movies where The Horror Villain Wins, winter thriller No Exit, Sebastian Stan’s Fresh, Ti West’s X and a 20th-anniversary audio commentary on Blade 2 (2002)!
Podcasts
Freddy’s Back, So Is Jason, ‘Hellraiser’ Goes to Horror Nights, and ‘The Odyssey’ [Halloweenies Podcast]
Coming Soon & Now Showing is a monthly series on Halloweenies that catches up on the latest horror headlines and round robins capsule reviews of new and old horrors.
This week, Michael Roffman and McKenzie Gerber hit up Elm Street, Haddonfield, and Crystal Lake before braving the high seas to discuss the horrors within Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey. They also review this year’s Exit 8 and Forbidden Fruits before dusting off old classics for the first time in 2020’s Caveat and 1985’s The Mean Season.
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.