Horror Queers

Toss that girl in the pond and break out the good champagne because we're discussing James Whale's seminal horror film Frankenstein (1931) to celebrate the release of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (2025)! Join us as we discuss how Frankenstein's success (along with that same year's Dracula), helped kickstart a series of Universal monster films. We also discuss what made this film so terrifying for audiences in 1931, despite the fact that the creature itself is one of the most sympathetic characters in horror history. Plus: another lesson in German Expressionism, lamenting the uselessness of Elizabeth (Mae Clarke), heaping all the praise on that dummy shot, and recounting a funny anecdote about....hard-boiled eggs??? Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After contributing to The Pod and the Pendulum's 300th episode on the 25 best horror films of the 21st century, we decided to run through our individual lists for listeners. How did we each approach the task? (hint: thank god for Letterboxd) Which film(s) appear on both lists? And what movies will top our individual lists?! Don't scroll if you don't wanna know! Joe’s Top 25 Horror Films of the Century (Ranked) ---------- Trace’s Top 25 Horror Films of the Century (Ranked) Listen to our guest spot on TGIF Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Spit out that cherry pit and get ready to meet a horny little devil because we're discussing George Miller's 1987 adaptation of John Updike's satirical feminist(?) novel The Witches of Eastwick! Join us as we go all in on the production troubles this film had. From the studio putting the pressure on Miller to some casting snafus with Susan Sarandon and Cher, it's a wonder this thing turned out as well as it did! Plus: Jack Nicholson's scene-stealing performance, gagging over cherry pit-laden vomit, debating sequel ideas, and wondering why Michelle Pfeiffer has nothing to do in this movie? Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Here's a sneak peek at our all new Patreon episode on Scott Derrickson's sequel Black Phone 2, a film that confounded us almost as much as it bored us. *Correction: We refer to the stylistic choice during Gwen's dream sequences as 16mm when it's actually Super 8. Our apologies! Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/horrorqueers and become a Patron for more than 400 hours of exclusive bonus content today! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Don your mask for the treasure hunt because we're discussing J.A. Bayona's The Orphanage (2007) along with Spanish horror scholar (and returning guest) Shelagh Rowan-Legg. Join us as we praise Belén Rueda's lead performance, the film's unsettling set pieces, its curious lack of Spanish cultural signifiers, and speculate on the film's use of HIV in the plot. Plus: the film's obsession with jaws, Joe's suspicions of Carlos' infidelity, and multiple interpretations of the bittersweet ending! Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) > Shelagh: @shelaghrowanlegg (BlueSky) / https://shelaghrowanlegg.com/ Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're headed to the cottage for some R'n'R (that would be rape/revenge) with screenwriter Stuart Morse and director Steven R. Monroe's 2010 remake of I Spit on Your Grave for its 15th anniversary. Beyond asking who is this for and why are there no female creatives involved (!), we're digging into the revenge, questioning the gaze, and talking about queer actor Daniel Franzese dropping his voice to play redneck. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wipe that popcorn off your jacket and take the longest shower ever because we're discussing the queer-leaning throuple at the center of Stephen Chiodo's cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)! Tagging in for the conversation is Dead Ringers Podcast co-host Paul Farrell! Join us as we dive into this plot-lite gem of a film, thanks to some impressively resourceful practical effects and set design, courtesy of the Chiodo Bros.. It's a gateway horror film that aims to entertain, and at that it most definitely does. Plus: The Dickies' super fun theme song, "Klown mayhem," debating the usefulness of Debbie and why Trace can't stop laughing over the line "big boobs!" Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) > Paul : @paulisgreat2000 (BlueSky) / @paulisgreat2000 (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're checking out a new horror short in the form of Picture, a 7-minute-long short about a haunted Polaroid camera from director Sadé Sellers (guest on our previous episodes for Alien 3 and Orphan). Watch the short here. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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! Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Grab a chainsaw because we're slicing into writer Joe Knetter and director Marcel Walz's homage to classic rural horror titles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. We're mixed on this one, which has one of the best deaths of the year (file under: gloryhole sounding) and tons of queerness, but has terrible pacing/editing and a confusing message. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Strap on your ice skates and check your makeup because we're talking Gus Van Sant's whip-smart satire To Die For for its 30th anniversary! After all, you're not anybody in America unless you're on TV, right? Join us as we heap all the praise on Nicole Kidman's Golden Globe-winning (but not Oscar-nominated) performance as narcissistic sociopath Suzanne Stone before going all in on the film's troubled road to release (so many test screenings!). Plus: Danny Elfman's jarring score, baby Joaquin Phoenix (in one of his best roles), assassin David Cronenberg and why there's no point in doing anything if nobody's watching. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Here's a sneak peek at our all new Patreon episode on the first season finale of Noah Hawley's FX/Disney+ series, Alien: Earth (2025). Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/horrorqueers and become a Patron for more than 424 hours of exclusive bonus content today! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we're opening the Patreon vault to discuss The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) in anticipation of Renny Harlin's long overdue sequel, Chapter 2. We have a lot of thoughts about this first film, its negative reception, and how to evaluate what is really 1/3 of a single film. Plus: Rural horror, comparisons to the Fear Street trilogy and the Cabin Fever remake, groaning at inhaler drama, debates about character stupidity, our favorite jump scares, and the perils of late night fridge repair. Bonus Drinking Game: Trace sighs or Joe says "exciting" Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alma! We're covering another Alfred Hitchcock film with 1963's The Birds. It's Hitch, so prepare to get technical with Trace's production history and thanks to another essay from It Came From the Closet, Joe has a compulsory Melanie & Annie queer reading on deck. Plus: the one scene that doesn't work; our favorite pieces of editing; why bitchy Melanie is our fave; and this week's game: sequel or remake! References: It Came From the ClosetThe Making of Alfred Hitchcock's The BirdsQuestions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hop on your motorcycle, avoid that "child" in the road and slide to a stop because we're discussing Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal anime Akira (1988)! Join us as we offer a primer on all things Akira, as well as its influences on, uh, everything. We then work our way through its very, very dense plot, which somehow condenses hundreds of manga pages into a 2-hour runtime. This includes a queer read for Kaneda and Tetsuo, as well as debating whether or not the film has a "woman problem." Plus: raisin-faced "children," singularities, and one horrifying sequence involving malevolent stuffed animals (and a lot of "milk"). Reference: Akira: The Story Behind the FilmEmpireJapan’s Violent Motorcycle Gangs that Influenced Akira – and Anime HistoryTokyo WeekenderQuestions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada

Here's a sneak peek at our all new Patreon episode on The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) the fourth and "final" entry in the mainline entries of The Conjuring Universe. Like what you hear? Head on over to www.patreon.com/horrorqueers and become a Patron for more than 400 hours of exclusive bonus content today! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada

We're celebrating the 25th anniversary of queer director João Pedro Rodrigues' controversial erotic drama O Fantasma (2000). There's a lot to unpack in this movie with very little dialogue or narrative tissue, as we follow protagonist Sérgio (Ricardo Meneses) from sexual encounter to sexual encounter. It's a strange (and occasionally very, very hot) film that left us a bit perplexed, but we can't deny that it fascinated us to no end. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or brand new Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: ⁠⁠@tracedthurman⁠⁠ (Bluesky)⁠ / ⁠⁠@tracedthurman⁠⁠ (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada

For Episode 350 (!) we decided we wanted a party, so we're headed south of the border to hang out at the Titty Twister with the Gecko brothers in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). From an epic game that lasts the whole episode to a little bit of drunken slurring by the end, this is a good time through and through. Plus: Quentin Tarantino's screenplay and how this collaboration anticipates 2007's Grindhouse (see previous episodes), worshipping Santanico Pandemonium, Trace's pitch to watch the TV series, and the many, MANY titles that we may cover in the future. Grab your crotch gun and jump in! Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada

Trace and Joe hit the stacks to check out Clark Collis' Screaming and Conjuring: The Resurrection and Unstoppable Rise of the Modern Horror Movie (Available Sept 2, 2025). This is your new Bible for contemporary horror films, complete with production info, tracking trends, and interesting facts about individual films and franchises. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada

Get the kid and the bike because we're heading to The Mexican Place to check out Troma Entertainment's crown jewel: The Toxic Avenger (1984). Just in time to celebrate the release of Macon Blair's remake, too! Join us as we offer a primer on all things Toxie before diving into this ridiculously silly (and charming!) little film. The Toxic Avenger feels like a live-action cartoon that's been dumped in a vat of extremely transgressive toxic waste, and it all (mostly) works! Plus: an unexpected gang of queers, masturbating to photos of dead children, "Body Talk", and swapping out human heads for cantaloupes. CW: Dog death, child death, attempted sexual assault and the use of many, many slurs. Questions? Comments? Snark? Connect with the boys on BlueSky, Instagram, Youtube, Letterboxd, Facebook, or join the Facebook Group or the Horror Queers Discord to get in touch with other listeners. > Trace: @tracedthurman (BlueSky)/ @tracedthurman (Instagram) > Joe: @joelipsett (BlueSky) / @bstolemyremote (Instagram) Be sure to support the boys on Patreon! Theme Music: Alexander Nakarada