Podcasts
The Rampant Sexuality of David Cronenberg’s ‘Shivers’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Taxpayer Funded Sex Slugs.
After wrapping up September with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (listen), debating the merits of The Strangers: Chapter 1 (listen) and celebrating 30 years of To Die For (listen), it’s time for a David Cronenberg milestone: 50 years since his genre feature film debut, Shivers (1975).
In the film, Starliner Tower is an exclusive, isolated apartment complex mere minutes away from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The residents have access to every amenity and want for nothing.
The problem is that a bizarre sexually transmitted parasite is making its way through the building, starting with a mad doctor (Fred Doederlein) and his underage mistress. In no time at all, the infection has made its way into the laundry room, the elevators, and even the bathtub of an unsuspecting victim, Betts (Barbara Steele).
As the sex-crazed contagion rapidly spreads, it falls on on-site doctor Roger St. Luc (Paul Hampton), his lover/nurse Forsythe (Lynn Lowry) and unserious colleague Rollo Linsky (Joe Silver) to save the day. But with no safe spaces left and the city a mere 12.5 minutes drive away, can the venereal disease be stopped before everyone is infected?!
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Episode 355: Shivers (1975)
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, we’re revisiting David Cronenberg’s classic “sex slug” film, Shivers (1975). C/W: sexual assault, statutory rape
An isolated Montreal apartment complex comes under attack by a parasitic aphrodisiac venereal disease in the famed Canada director’s genre debut, which a) nearly went to Hollywood and b) was publicly attacked because the movie was funded by taxpayer dollars.
Plus: searching for a protagonist; low-fi FX that hold up; the nonchalant acceptance of the rape of a minor; threatening queer sexuality; and an all-timer ending in the pool!
Cross out Shivers!
Coming Up Next: We’re overdue for some silliness, so we’re going to check out the Chiodo brothers’ one and only feature film, Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 427 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 2, Episodes 11 and 12, Bone Lake, The Strangers: Chapter 2, Black Phone 2 and, to prepare for next month’s Predator: Badlands, a brand new audio commentary on Predator: Killer of Killers (2025).
After winding down June with discussions of our vey first William Castle film Homicidal (listen) and queer director Roland Emmerich’s summer tentpole Independence Day (listen), we’re heading back to 1981 to check out Joe Dante‘s seminal werewolf film The Howling.
The Howling sees television journalist Karen White (Dee Wallace) attend a psychiatric retreat with her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) after being attacked and traumatized by local serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo). It isn’t long before Karen realizes that the retreat is actually a secret cult of werewolves, and they’ve already got their sights set on Bill.
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 394: The Howling (1981)
Make note of that smiley face sticker and snag that conveniently-placed jar of acid because we’re talking Joe Dante’s stealth werewolf classic The Howling (1981)!
Join us as we discuss the film’s deviations from its source material before doing a deep dive into this very tongue-in-cheek, self-aware horror film. It honestly feels like a precursor to Scream, in many ways!
Plus: Roger Corman (again!) those incredible special effects, differentiating “color movies” from “movies in color,” and why queer icon Elisabeth Brooks has us going “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!”
Cross out The Howling!
Coming Up Next: We’re tackling our very first Ken Russell film with a look at his controversial 1984 erotic thriller Crimes of Passion!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 508 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 Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (aka Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch), and the conclusion of our coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat on the Requel Tier.