Podcasts
“Chucky” Creator Don Mancini Joins the Horror Queers for a Chucky Extravaganza!
Bitch, it’s Don Mancini!
September has been a very busy month for us Horror Queers! First, we took a trip to Poland to analyze the trans allegory in the mermaid horror musical The Lure before heading back into the twisted mind of Clive Barker to discuss his infamous directorial debut, Hellraiser. Last week, we’re doing a deep dive into Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Dario Argento’s 1977 classic Suspiria but now we’ve got the episode to end all episodes as we do a deep dive into the Chucky franchise with the creator himself: Don Mancini!
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, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 197: A Chucky Extravaganza! feat. Don Mancini
Sorry, Jack…Chucky’s back! With the second season of Chucky premiering on SyFy next week, we thought we’d take a look back at the franchise that spawned the successful television series. And who better to walk us through memory lane than the creator of the franchise himself: Don Mancini!
Join us as we do a deep dive into the franchise with Mancini (specifically the entries from Bride of Chucky and onward), covering all manner of topics like, oh, we don’t know, turning one of the biggest horror franchises into a super queer empowerment story?
We discuss things like “too much Jennifer Tilly” (what?!), the return of Glen/Glenda (and why they’ve been absent from the franchise for almost 20 years), retcons, Britney Spears, Katherine Heigl and how Hannibal paved the way for the Chucky series. Not watching Chucky? Chucky says “move your ass” and hop to it!
Cross out our Chucky Extravaganza!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re heading back into erotic thriller territory with a look at Paul Verhoeven’s controversial hit Basic Instinct. Is it biphobic? Is it misogynistic? We shall discuss!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 200 hours of additional content! This month, we’ve got episodes on the film adaptation of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Disney’s legacy sequel Hocus Pocus 2, Hulu’s Hellraiser reboot, the final(?) entry in David Gordon Green’s Halloween series Halloween Ends, and an audio commentary on Gore Verbinski’s The Ring, just in time for its 20th anniversary!
On the DL.
After spending June on explicitly queer texts like Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn (listen) and William Castle’s Homicidal (listen), it’s only appropriate that Horror Queers celebrate the American holiday with a blockbuster film with a not-so-secret gay connection.
In Independence Day, an unlikely group of people come together when the human race faces extinction from a threatening alien race. After spaceships destroy every major city, pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) must team up with secret tech genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), as well as the US President (Bill Pullman), to execute a daring plan to save the planet from annihilation.
Along for the ride are the two saviors’ romantic partners – WH Communications Director Constance (Margaret Colin) and stripper Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) – plus eccentric scientist Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner), who is at the center of the film’s most horrific set piece.
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 393: Independence Day (1996)
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day…courtesy of gay German director Roland Emmerich.
As the summer blockbuster celebrates its 30th anniversary, we’re looking back on an alien disaster film that scared young Trace (thanks to that alien autopsy scene) and turned Will Smith into a star.
Plus: the death that upsets the most; bemoaning Vivica A. Fox’s career; pondering what could have been with the casting; why Smith’s bravado and the film’s patriotism doesn’t always work for Joe; and plenty of riffing on the atrocious sequel.
Cross out Independence Day!
Coming Up Next: We’re retreating to the country for some questionable therapy courtesy of Joe Dante’s 1981 classic, The Howling!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 503 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on the utterly ridiculous sequel Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985), and the conclusion of our Requel Tier coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.