Podcasts
‘The Lodge’ Is a Bleak Trip Through Holiday Hell [The Lady Killers Podcast]
“God is punishing us for what we did.”
We’re told that Christmas is a time to cherish those we love. Classic holiday movies remind us that it’s the charmingly imperfect time spent with our loved ones that truly matters this time of year. But what if our family is fractured beyond repair? Sometimes the season only serves as a grim reminder of all we’ve lost and the icy reality of the loneliness we’ll return to when January rolls around. Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz present the darker side of the Christmas season with a flawed family tottering on the edge of destruction. Their icy film, The Lodge, is a bleak reminder that not everyone’s Christmas is merry and bright. Some of us must grit our teeth and suffer through the most wonderful time of year.
All Grace (Riley Keough) wants for Christmas is to connect with her soon-to-be stepchildren. She’s recently gotten engaged to Richard (Richard Armitage) who left his wife Laura (Alicia Silverstone) to be with her. But Laura’s suicide jeopardizes their idyllic future. Richard’s children Aiden (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) blame Grace for their mother’s death and refuse to soften towards her. Hoping to mend the rift, Richard plans a Christmas vacation at the family’s isolated cabin then leaves Grace alone with his two moody tweens. Aiden and Mia try to avenge their mother with an elaborate prank designed to put their future stepmother in her place. But the young woman’s past trauma rears its head causing the cozy weekend getaway to spiral into a soul-crushing nightmare.
In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults conclude the year with this bleak holiday film that explores the cost of misplaced blame and the deadly consequences of isolation. Who is the film’s true villain? Are Mia’s dolls chilling or endearing? Could these kids actually pull off such a prank who taught Aiden how to drive? They’ll close out the year by answering these questions and more in a chilling trip through holiday hell.
Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.
Podcasts
Shakespearean Education in the Vincent Price-Starring ‘Theater of Blood’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Butch knows best…
After concluding May with discussions of the disaster “slasher” The Poseidon Adventure (listen) and Michael Biehn’s demon twink in the messy-but-watchable The Fan (listen), we’re heading back to the ’70s to discuss our very first Vincent Price film in Douglas Hickox‘s horror comedy Theater of Blood (1973).
In Theater of Blood, Vincent Price stars as Edward Lionheart, a disgraced Shakespearean actor who begins targeting the critics who shamed him. The gimmick? He’s taking inspiration from the death scenes in William Shakespeare’s plays! Aiding him is his daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg), who acts as the honeypot for her father’s macabre scheme.
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Episode 388: Theater of Blood (1973)
Brush up on your Shakespeare and protect those poodles because we’re covering our very first Vincent Price film in Douglas Hickox’s horror comedy Theater of Blood (1973), a personal favorite of both Price and Diana Rigg.
Join us as we go all in on this somewhat episodic (but also educational!) proto-slasher, wondering if we’re supposed to know that’s Diana Rigg in hippie drag, and cackling at some of these murder set pieces.
Plus, “Handsy Dickman,” narcissistic gravestones, antisemitic stage makeup, and the ultimate debate: is it theatER or theatRE?
C/W: Attempted suicide, off-screen dog murder.
Cross out Theater of Blood!
Coming Up Next: We’re celebrating the premiere of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat with a look at the much-maligned 2002 adaptation Queen of the Damned!
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