Podcasts
Body Horror Meets the Zombie Apocalypse in David Cronenberg’s ‘Rabid’ [The Lady Killers Podcast]
“I wouldn’t mind just one bite.”
When we think of zombie movies, we imagine deceased loved ones rising from hillside cemeteries, decaying walkers roaming the streets, or contagious victims decimating a city – and that’s not to mention the whole Infected vs. Undead debate. We don’t expect a zombie-like plague to emerge from a phallic armpit appendage that craves human blood. But when it’s David Cronenberg we’re talking about, anything goes. The body horror specialist puts his own spin on the zombie subgenre with Rabid, a strangely horrifying tale that turns a stunning human body into a weapon of mass destruction.
Rose (Marilyn Chambers) has just survived a horrific motorcycle accident when she’s rushed to the nearby Keloid Institute of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Dan Keloid (Howard Ryshpan) of Institute fame, performs an experimental skin graft that seems to correct her debilitating burns. Rose wakes up from a month-long coma with an unblemished torso and a new zest for life. She also seems to have grown a phallic appendage that emerges from her armpit with an unquenchable thirst. Contact with this phallic weapon causes zombie-like symptoms and eventual death. With her concealed friend in tow, the naive Rose goes on a bloody rampage throughout Montreal, spreading murderous zombies wherever she goes.
The Lady Killers continue Hot Girl Summer with a trip to Canada and a risky procedure. Co-hosts Jenn Adams, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults are joined by special guest Kayte Terry to chat about bodily autonomy, onscreen nudity, government responses, and a very special little arm dick. Why is Marilyn Chambers perfect for this role? What responsibility does she have to help find a cure? Why did they have to shoot Santa down and has Christmas been officially canceled? They’ll chat about villains and skin grafts while ogling Smooth Eddy (he always looks good) and honoring the complicated love story of Ketchup Man and Potato Man in Cronenberg’s fascinating sophomore film.
Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.
Podcasts
Freddy’s Back, So Is Jason, ‘Hellraiser’ Goes to Horror Nights, and ‘The Odyssey’ [Halloweenies Podcast]
Coming Soon & Now Showing is a monthly series on Halloweenies that catches up on the latest horror headlines and round robins capsule reviews of new and old horrors.
This week, Michael Roffman and McKenzie Gerber hit up Elm Street, Haddonfield, and Crystal Lake before braving the high seas to discuss the horrors within Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey. They also review this year’s Exit 8 and Forbidden Fruits before dusting off old classics for the first time in 2020’s Caveat and 1985’s The Mean Season.
Stream the episode below. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters.This year? Hellraiser!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter, ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.
