Podcasts
Slurping Up Emerald Fennell’s Class Critique with ‘Saltburn’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
Short Murder King.
Trace and I are nearing the end of Pride month, which has included the tepid adaptation of Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned (listen), as well as Ben Stiller’s homo-tinged black comedy The Cable Guy (listen). Now it’s time for British writer/director Emerald Fennell‘s “Eat the rich” thriller/satire Saltburn (2023).
In the film, Oliver (Barry Keoghan) struggles to fit in at Oxford until he befriends ultra-rich Felix (Jacob Elordi), who takes him on as a kind of poverty project. This doesn’t sit well with Felix’s cousin Farleigh (Archie Madewke), who perhaps sees a little too much of himself in the bootlicker/social ladder climber.
Tensions explode when Oliver is invited to spend the summer at Felix’s palatial family home, Saltburn. Overseen by flighty but cruel mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) and slightly loony father James (Richard E. Grant), with promiscuous sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) lurking on the periphery and outside windows, it’s a world of rich opulence where Oliver doesn’t understand the rules.
Or does he? The further the film progresses, the clearer it becomes that not everything about Oliver adds up. As Catton members fall by the wayside, it’s clear that Oliver will stop at nothing (and sleep with everyone!) to fit in among the elite.
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Episode 391: Saltburn (2023)
Slurp up that cummy bath water because we are talking about writer/director Emerald Fennell’s divisive satirical thriller Saltburn (2023).
From its sublime cast to its gorgeous visual aesthetic, there’s a lot to love here. But does Fennell push her class critique hard enough and are these characters too despicable?
Plus: “pug faced” (hung) king Barry Keoghan; Trace’s hatred of Farleigh; wanting more Rosamund Pike; and debating why the film is so polarizing.
Cross out Saltburn!
Coming Up Next: We’re covering the pod’s first William Castle with the 1961 Psycho rip-off, Homicidal.
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 episodic coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat.
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.