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The Demon Twink Lives On in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

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Horror Queers Talented Mr. Ripley

Boring!

After concluding March with a discussion of Velma’s queer erasure in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (listen) and a revisit to the world of James Whale in The Invisible Man (listen), we’re heading to the ’50s to analyze Anthony Minghella‘s 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith‘s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The 1950s-set film sees Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a con artist who is sent from New York City to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), a rich and spoiled playboy who is vacationing with his girlfriend Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow), to return home. Tom becomes infatuated with Dickie after getting a taste of his extravagant lifestyle, leading to a sinister turn of events.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple PodcastsStitcherSpotifyiHeartRadioSoundCloudTuneInAmazon MusicGoogle Podcasts, and RSS.


Episode 276: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Scratch out that passport photo and don’t be boring because we’re discussing Anthony Minghella‘s 1999 adaptation, The Talented Mr. Ripley! Tagging in for the conversation is Jordan Gustafson, the co-host of the Queer Quadrant Podcast!

Join us as we go all in on this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith‘s classic novel, from Matt Damon‘s stellar performance as evil twink Tom Ripley to Jude Law‘s massive cakes. The film also puts a heavier emphasis on Tom’s queerness, so you know we’ll have a lot to say about that!

Plus: homoerotic bathtub chess matches, a lengthy tangent on the Oscars, and a compulsive need for more Cate Blanchett.


Cross out The Talented Mr. Ripley!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re headed to the North York Moors to see someone about a werewolf in John Landis’ 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London.

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 300 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal S01, Episode 03, Imaginary, Immaculate, Love Lies Bleeding and our audio commentary for the month will be on Renny Harlin’s dumb-but-fun murder mystery Mindhunters.

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Podcasts

A Little Fear of Penetration in David Cronenberg’s ‘eXistenZ’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

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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 PodcastsStitcherSpotifyiHeartRadioSoundCloudTuneInAmazon MusicGoogle 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 DevilThe First OmenFemme, Abigail and a brand new audio commentary on the original The Omen (1976).

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