Podcasts
Early Expressionist Frights in ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Slippery Somnambulist.
After closing out February with discussions of Mitchell Lichtenstein’s vagina dentata-centered horror comedy Teeth (listen) and one of the “good” Amityville franchise entries in Amityville 1992: It’s About Time (listen), we’re taking a look at the oldest film we’ve ever covered in Robert Weine‘s classic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)!
In the film, Franzis (Friedrich Feher) and his friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) encounter the crazed Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), who has just opened up a sideshow featuring his somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a hypnotized man who the doctor claims can see into the future. At the performance, Cesare predicts Alan’s death, and by morning his chilling prophecy has come true — making Cesare the prime suspect. Unfortunately for Franzis, Caligari has set his sights on his fiancé Jane (Lil Dagover) next, and it’s only a matter of time before Caligari sends Cesare after her.
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Episode 323: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Stay away from that sideshow attraction and watch out for murderous sleepwalkers because we’re discussing Robert Weine‘s classic 1920 silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, believed by many to be the first true horror film ever made!
Join us as we go on a tour of pre-WWII German history and learn about German Expressionism to see how Caligari came to be. But more importantly: to acknowledge the importance of this seminal film that has influenced countless film directors in the 105 years(!!!) since its initial release.
Cross out The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re kicking off a themed month of Doppelgängers & Doubles with a look at Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan.
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 370 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Borderline, Oddity, Opus, Death of a Unicorn and a brand new audio commentary on Sin City for its 20th anniversary.
On the DL.
After spending June on explicitly queer texts like Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn (listen) and William Castle’s Homicidal (listen), it’s only appropriate that Horror Queers celebrate the American holiday with a blockbuster film with a not-so-secret gay connection.
In Independence Day, an unlikely group of people come together when the human race faces extinction from a threatening alien race. After spaceships destroy every major city, pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) must team up with secret tech genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), as well as the US President (Bill Pullman), to execute a daring plan to save the planet from annihilation.
Along for the ride are the two saviors’ romantic partners – WH Communications Director Constance (Margaret Colin) and stripper Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) – plus eccentric scientist Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner), who is at the center of the film’s most horrific set piece.
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, and RSS.
Episode 393: Independence Day (1996)
Today, we celebrate our Independence Day…courtesy of gay German director Roland Emmerich.
As the summer blockbuster celebrates its 30th anniversary, we’re looking back on an alien disaster film that scared young Trace (thanks to that alien autopsy scene) and turned Will Smith into a star.
Plus: the death that upsets the most; bemoaning Vivica A. Fox’s career; pondering what could have been with the casting; why Smith’s bravado and the film’s patriotism doesn’t always work for Joe; and plenty of riffing on the atrocious sequel.
Cross out Independence Day!
Coming Up Next: We’re retreating to the country for some questionable therapy courtesy of Joe Dante’s 1981 classic, The Howling!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 503 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on the utterly ridiculous sequel Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985), and the conclusion of our Requel Tier coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.