Podcasts
The Problematic Nature of Shyamalan’s Otherwise Solid ‘Split’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Et cetera…
After kicking off the new year with a deep dive into Alex Garland’s directorial debut Ex Machina (listen) and revisiting our Patreon discussion of 28 Weeks Later (listen), we’re wrapping up January with a discussion of M. Night Shyamalan‘s 2016 box office juggernaut Split.
In Split, a man (James McAvoy) with 23 distinct personalities due to his dissociative identity disorder kidnaps three teenage girls (Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula) to sacrifice to his as yet unseen 24th personality: The Beast. While the girls attempt to escape, the man’s therapist (Betty Buckley) begins to suspect that he is lying to her during his sessions, sending her on an investigation deep into the mind of her troubled patient.
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Episode 370: Split (2016)
Look out the “window” and invite all the alters to the party because we’re discussing M. Night Shyamalan’s hugely successful but somewhat controversial 2016 thriller Split!
Join us as we parse through the film’s questionable handling of dissociative identity disorder and sexual assault, while lauding Shyamalan’s creative return to form and James McAvoy’s stellar performance.
Plus: Wheel of Fortune tactics, debating whether or not Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley) is a good therapist and discussing the Unbreakable (and Glass) of it all.
Cross out Split!
Coming Up Next: We’re spending Saturday night at the movies with the underrated early ’90s slasher Popcorn!
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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.