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.
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.
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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.