Podcasts
Discussing the Afterlife and Religion in ‘The Others’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Bitch, you dead.
We closed out July with a look at Joshua Grannell’s 2010 campy horror comedy All About Evil, and kicked off July discussing the ins and outs of the photography industry in the American giallo Eyes of Laura Mars. Now we’re getting serious with a discussion on the afterlife and religion in queer director Alejandro Amenábar‘s The Others (which just had a Criterion Blu-Ray announcement).
The Others sees Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), move her family to the English coast during World War II. She awaits word on her missing husband while protecting her children from a rare photosensitivity disease that causes the sun to harm them. Anne claims she sees ghosts, and while Grace initially thinks the new servants are playing tricks on her, chilling events and visions make her believe something supernatural may be occurring.
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Episode 242: The Others (2001) feat. Nichole Goble
Pray you don’t get lost in the fog because we’re heading to Jersey Island to discuss spooky ghost things in Alejandro Amenábar’s 2001 film The Others! Joining us for the conversation is Nichole Goble, the host of the Bodies of Horror podcast!
Join us as we trace the origins of the film through Tom Cruise(???) and Dimension Films(??????) before going all in on the atmospheric charms of this Gothic horror gem. From Nicole Kidman’s powerful performance, to a look at the film through a lens of disability, we’ve got you covered.
Plus: much discussion on Catholicism and the afterlife, the not-always-clear rules of the film, and the happiest version of filicide you’ll ever find in a horror film.
Cross out The Others!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re heading into genre-adjacent territory with a look at the anxiety-inducing antics of Emma Seligman’s 2020 gem Shiva Baby!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for nearly 257 hours of additional content! This month we’re discussing horror tropes that gotta go, as well as episodes on Meg 2: The Trench, Talk to Me, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter. And to tie in with that last one, our audio commentary for the month will be on Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the Coppola one).
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.