Podcasts
‘Scream 2’ Puts a Killer Mother Behind the Mask [The Lady Killers Podcast]
“You killed my son! And, now, I kill you and I can’t think of anything more rational.”
Compared to traditional slasher fare, there are many things that set the Scream franchise apart: multiple survivors, metatextual commentary, Matthew Lillard, the list goes on and on. But one of the most unique aspects of this beloved string of films is the fact that anyone and everyone could be the killer. With no supernatural elements or sub-human weapon-wielders, only a confirmed kill can eliminate a character from the suspect list. Many charismatic villains have donned the ominous Ghostface mask, but none so complex as the one revealed in Scream 2. Running on vengeance, grief, and motherly love, Mrs. Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) manipulates a psychotic young man and picks up the knife herself in an elaborate plan to seek revenge for the death of her son.
After surviving what has become known as the Woodsboro Murders, perpetual final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is attending Windsor College and hoping to move on with her life. She’s got a tight-knit group of friends – including fellow survivor Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) – and a perfect pre-med boyfriend with dreamy blue eyes and a so-so singing voice. But it seems Ghostface has not yet finished his business with Sidney. With the release of Stab, a movie based on the horrific crimes, a new string of murders begins on campus. Friends and enemies reunite to unmask the killer before he – or she – can create a real-life sequel.
The Lady Killers continue Murderous Mothers Month with a look at one of horror’s most iconic moms. Mrs. Loomis infiltrates the cinematic group with her flattering, if obvious, remarks and sneaks into our hearts with her unsettling eyes and cut-throat judgment. Co-hosts Jenn Adams, Mae Shults, Rocco T. Thompson, and Sammie Kuykendall will chat about local women, Greek tragedy, female ambition, and misplaced blame while dissecting the film’s shocking twist. Is Sidney the best person we all know? Is Gale an overlooked final girl? Has Timothy Olyphant always been hot and don’t we all have hard-ons for Cameron? They’ll sing along with Dewey’s theme song and serenade a wonderful killer while discussing their love for Wes Craven’s beloved sequel.
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After kicking off July with discussions of Joe Dante’s seminal werewolf film The Howling (listen) and Ken Russell’s controversial erotic thriller Crimes of Passion (listen), we’re heading to Maine to dissect one of Stephen King‘s most misguided adaptations in Lawrence Kasdan‘s 2003 misfire Dreamcatcher!
Dreamcatcher sees friends Henry (Thomas Jane), Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Beaver (Jason Lee) reunite for their annual hunting trip in Maine. Their reunion is cut short when they find themselves caught in the middle of a war between a hostile race of farty-farty aliens and an elite US military unit led by Colonel Abraham Curtis (Morgan Freeman), who has been driven mad after spending decades tracking the extraterrestrials. When Jonesy is possessed by one of the aliens, the remaining friends seek out their disabled childhood friend Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), who they believe has powers that can save Jonesy…and the world.
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Episode 396: Dreamcatcher (2003)
Watch out for “ister gay” (oof), take some Gas-X and bite our bags because we’re talking Lawrence Kasdan’s baffling 2003 adaptation of Stephen King’s equally baffling novel Dreamcatcher.
Join us as we go all in on the farty-farty aliens populating this hilarious misfire that often feels like a bad Kevin Smith script. It’s a film filled with characters who get a single defining trait (if they’re lucky), played by respectable actors who are here for the paycheck (looking at you, Morgan Freeman).
Plus: blown-out assholes, using guns as telephones, pitying poor Donnie Wahlberg, and wondering why the hell this movie is called Dreamcatcher.
Cross out Dreamcatcher!
Coming Up Next: We’re going to be lounging around a posh Greenwich Village apartment as we check in on Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954).
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