Podcasts
James Whale Delivered the Meanest, Most Egotistical Universal Monster with ‘The Invisible Man’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Gay Flowers.
March featured a variety of conversations, including the Kristen Stewart vehicle Personal Shopper (listen), Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (listen), and Raja Gosnell‘s live-action cartoon sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (listen here).
After previously covering The Old Dark House and Bride of Frankenstein, we wrapped the month up with another James Whale classic, The Invisible Man (1933).
In the film, Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) is an egomaniac with plans to sell his invisibility formula for a fortune, but first he has to “find a way back” from invisibility with the help of scientist/love interest, Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan). Alas, Griffin’s serum has also turned him insane and murderous, and he embarks on a killing spree that will claim the highest body count of any Universal Monster title.
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, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 275: The Invisible Man (1933)
Strip naked and knock over a baby carriage because we’re gleefully covering the Universal Monster with the biggest ego and the largest body count: James Whale’s The Invisible Man (1933).
Hear about all of the adaptation problems with H.G. Wells’ source material! Gasp at the way the FX were accomplished! Groan whenever Flora is onscreen doing absolutely nothing!
Plus: MVP Una O’Connor, Kemp’s tragic/hilarious death, and a “dick out” queer reading.
Cross out The Invisible Man!
Coming up on Wednesday: With the arrival of the new Ripley series on Netflix, we’re revisiting Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley in advance of its 25th anniversary in December.
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for nearly 300 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01S04, Late Night with the Devil, Femme, Abigail, and The First Omen. And to coincide with that prequel, our audio commentary for the month will be on the original 1976 Gregory Peck film, The Omen.
Podcasts
A Little Fear of Penetration in David Cronenberg’s ‘eXistenZ’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Game Loop.
Trace and I inadvertently bookended our April discussions of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London (listen) and Ciarán Foy’s Eli (listen) with Jude Law films. At the start of the month, we tackled Matt Damon’s Italian grifter in The Talented Mr. Ripley (listen) and now we’re closing out April with David Cronenberg‘s eXistenZ (1999).
The unofficial sequel to Videodrome (listen) and precursor to Crimes of the Future, eXistenZ takes place in the world of virtual reality and simulation. Game goddess Allegra Gellar (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is forced to go on the run with PR nerd Ted Pikul (Jude Law) through the Canadian backwoods when ‘Realist’ terrorists declare open season on her life.
Featuring no shortage of strange encounters and oddball characters, including Willem Dafoe‘s queer-coded Gas and Canadian film royalty like Don McKellar and Sarah Polley, Allegra and Ted must travel between the real world and the game world, all the while keeping track of who is friendly…and who is foe.
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, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
Episode 279: eXistenZ (1999) feat Vannah Taylor
Lube up your industry standard bio-port because we’re playing David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ (1999) with someone friendly: Vannah Taylor!
David Cronenberg’s meditation on the dangers of gaming and simulation is the middle entry of an unofficial trilogy. It’s also a film that gets real confusing, real fast, so good luck figuring out if we’re still in the game!
Plus: criticisms of a “bland” game world, praise for Jennifer Jason Leigh, Canadian royalty, comparisons to Serenity, disgusting gristle guns, and Pikul getting his back blown out (several times!)
Cross out eXistenZ!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re continuing our celebration of 1999 films with a look at Stephen Sommers’ bisexual awakening, action adventure film, The Mummy (1999).
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 306 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01E04, Late Night with the Devil, The First Omen, Femme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).