Podcasts
Evil Begets Evil in ‘Apt Pupil’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Nazi is as Nazi does.
After kicking off spooky season with a look at Tim Burton’s ode to Hammer Horror in Sleepy Hollow and tackling another Friday the 13th with one of its best entries in Friday the 13th Part 2, we’re getting serious for a minute with a discussion of Bryan Singer‘s 1998 Stephen King adaptation Apt Pupil.
Apt Pupil sees high school student Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) discover a fugitive Nazi war criminal, Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen), living in his neighborhood under a pseudonym. Bowden, obsessed with Nazism and the Holocaust, blackmails Dussander into sharing his horror stories, and their relationship stirs malice in each of them.
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Episode 252: Apt Pupil (1998)
Keep the cat away from that Nazi and get ready to separate the art from the artist because we’re discussing Bryan Singer’s 1998 Stephen King adaptation Apt Pupil! Joining us for the discussion is The Losers’ Club podcast co-host Jenn Adams!
Join us as we discuss the long road to getting this adaptation made before delving into the Bryan Singer of it all in an admittedly difficult and heavy conversation. Plus: the tragedy of Brad Renfro, David Schwimmer and his mustache wig, Ann Dowd(?!?!) and the always excellent Ian McKellen marching in an SS uniform.
We are also offering a content warning for this episode because we do discuss the sexual assault allegations against Bryan Singer in detail, so proceed with caution.
Cross out Apt Pupil!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re closing out October with a look at what might be the most controversial entry in the Halloween franchise: Rob Zombie’s Halloween II!
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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.