Podcasts
A Comedic Take on the Stalker Thriller in ‘The Cable Guy’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Free cable is the ultimate aphrodisiac…
After kicking off June with discussions of our very first Vincent Price film in Theater of Blood (listen) and revisiting the world of Anne Rice (kinda) in Queen of the Damned (listen), we’re stepping out of our usual area of coverage to discuss Ben Stiller‘s genre-adjacent black comedy The Cable Guy (1996).
In The Cable Guy, newly single Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) gets more than he bargained for after he bribes his eccentric cable installer, Ernie “Chip” Douglas (Jim Carrey), for free movie channels. While attempting to woo back his ex Robin (Leslie Mann), Steven must contend with Chip’s desperate need for companionship. Chip’s relationship-building tactics quickly escalate into obsessive stalking, making for a darkly comedic take on thrillers like Fatal Attraction and Single White Female.
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 390: The Cable Guy (1996)
Get ready to tell us where you like it as we head to Medieval Times because we’re discussing Ben Stiller’s Jim Carrey-starring black comedy The Cable Guy (1996) for its 30th anniversary! Tagging in for the conversation are Patrick Hamilton and Gena Radcliffe of the Kill By Kill Podcast.
Join us as we go all in on the oddly prescient (and highly media literate) film made famous by Jim Carrey’s $20 million paycheck. From Carrey’s incredibly creepy performance to a nightmare sequence straight out of A Nightmare on Elm Street, there are a lot more horror (and homoerotic) undertones to this film than you might expect!
Plus, that iconic karaoke sequence, sexy Jack Black and comparisons to Single White Female, So I Married an Axe Murderer and Scream.
Cross out The Cable Guy!
Coming Up Next: We’re licking the drain as we check in with the Catton family in Emerald Fennel’s not-remake of The Talented Mr. Ripley in her 2023 sophomore feature Saltburn!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 498 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.
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.