Podcasts
Deconstructing Love and Marriage with Tim Burton’s ‘Corpse Bride’
“I was a bride. My dreams were taken from me. But now – now I’ve stolen them from someone else.”
Every little girl grows up dreaming of the day she will don a gorgeous white dress and become a bride. At least that’s what we’re told. For centuries, fairy tales and fables have reified an iconic depiction of matrimony that leaves little room for individuality. The reality is that marriage is different for every couple and there are a million different ways to be a bride. Tim Burton’s stunning claymation classic Corpse Bride helps to redefine the concept of marriage with a pair of women set to wed the same man.
On the eve of their wedding day, Victor (Johnny Depp) and Victoria (Emily Watson) have trepidation. Not only have they never met, their greedy parents have arranged the match to fulfill a variety of selfish goals. Both resign themselves to a loveless life and go through the motions of their parents’ plans. But when Victor struggles to recite his vows, he runs off to practice them in the woods and winds up resurrecting/marrying Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), a corpse who died on her wedding day. Held to his promise, the frightened groom prepares for life among the dead while an even more terrifying predator makes a play for his would-be wife.
In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, and Rachel Reeves unpack the layers of this undead love triangle that manages to merge the living and the dead. What does Emily’s dress reveal about her concept of love? Why must Victor memorize his wedding vows? How does Victoria feel about marriage and have her parents ever been kind? They’ll answer these questions and more while sharing their love for this stunning film.
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!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 492 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 3 Episodes 5 & 6, Backrooms, Passenger, Leviticus, an audio commentary on the original Scary Movie (2000), and the return of our Requel Tier as we begin our episode coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.