Plug It Up: A Horror Movie Podcast About the Monstrous Feminine
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Plug it Up is a horror movie podcast about the monstrous feminine. Host Caitlin Grant and her funny guests look at the monstrous feminine in all its forms, including: monstrous menstruation (like Carrie and Ginger Snaps), monstrous motherhood (like Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen), femmes fatales (like Jennifer’s Body and The Love Witch), black widows (like Dolores Claibore), body horror in women (like Teeth and Raw), treacherous friendships between women (like The Craft), women battling horrors (like You’re Next), and women who are themselves horrific (like Gone Girl). Although this show focuses on the experiences and portrayals of women in horror, it’s a gender inclusive space, and the discussion is open to people of all gender identities and presentations. It’s an explicitly intersectional feminist, trans-inclusive podcast for horror fans.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Arts & Culture Podcasts
Description:
Plug it Up is a horror movie podcast about the monstrous feminine. Host Caitlin Grant and her funny guests look at the monstrous feminine in all its forms, including: monstrous menstruation (like Carrie and Ginger Snaps), monstrous motherhood (like Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen), femmes fatales (like Jennifer’s Body and The Love Witch), black widows (like Dolores Claibore), body horror in women (like Teeth and Raw), treacherous friendships between women (like The Craft), women battling horrors (like You’re Next), and women who are themselves horrific (like Gone Girl). Although this show focuses on the experiences and portrayals of women in horror, it’s a gender inclusive space, and the discussion is open to people of all gender identities and presentations. It’s an explicitly intersectional feminist, trans-inclusive podcast for horror fans.
Language:
English
Episodes
Sugar and Spice: and Semi-Automatics
4/30/2024
Morgan from CandleCore and the Good For Her film screening series joins Caitlin to cover Sugar and Spice, a less-horror-more-heist comedy from 2001. We talk about sisterhood, americana, motherhood, and finding identity in archetypes in this stylized, subversive cult classic. It was very formative for both of us!
Tangents include: Scream, Spice Girls, go-to breakfasts, pets, yearbooks, fireplaces vs fire pits, candles, injuries, and more.
Duration:01:30:56
Scream 2: Sharted on the Dancefloor
4/16/2024
Mary and Charlie join Caitlin to cover Scream 2, a movie with an interesting production history and a star-studded cast. We talk about sequel tropes, monstrous motherhood, and the franchise entering the conversation around the effect of violent media.
Tangents include: sharting, pranks, product placement, Bob Dole, spiced coke, Scream rankings, franchise kills, natural disasters, horror movie roles, sequels, a few fun WYRs, PIU guests as Twilight characters, celebrity deaths, and head size.
Duration:01:40:35
Slaxx: Killer Pants
4/9/2024
Everybody's little brother Zach joins Caitlin to cover Slaxx, a movie about possessed pants. We talk about retail madness, the myth of "ethical" consumption, and how this movie nails horror comedy with a message. It's goofy and silly, but also affecting.
We also talk about: camp counselor stories, retail work experiences, brushing teeth with twigs, being haters, jeans, pooping fruits, one hit wonders, correcting assumptions, chicken nuggets, wisdom tooth removal, beans, our dad's strange portioning, and spoons vs forks.
Duration:01:07:15
Dogville: Evil Can Arise Anywhere
4/2/2024
Mathula joins Caitlin to cover 2003's Dogville, the first installment of Lars Von Trier's unfinished United States trilogy. It's an impressive undertaking with a unique production history and bleak plot. We talk about themes of hopelessness, arrogance, and man's tendency towards harm. It's a rough watch at times, but a really interesting movie overall. Shoutout to Mathula for mailing me the DVD and chatting with me.
Tangents include: hair, goth-ness, bins of pins, dogs, HBO, changing movie endings, horror movie tropes, a bean WYR, correcting assumptions, and craft fairs. Be sure to check out Hallelujah Dystopia.
Duration:01:17:52
Spring: Of Love and Other Monsters
3/26/2024
Bob, Randy, and Soju of Straight Chilling Podcast join Caitlin to discuss Spring, the Benson and Moorhead body-horror-romance from 2014. We look at themes of travel, love, time[lessness], monstrous motherhood, and science. Thanks for joining, boys!
Tangents include: HBO, actors, one-hit-wonders, strange addictions, celebratory meals, favorite cities, fights, dogs, hotdogs, and airports. And we agree that we're ~a little fucked up~ (*cue the most cringe 90s numetal your mind can conjure*).
Duration:01:48:58
Solo-sode: Getting Sterilized
3/20/2024
It's been a while since I've shared a solo episode, but I wanted to chat a little bit about my recent bilateral salpingectomy, in case any other folks out there had questions or wanted to learn more about the procedure. This is always something I've wanted for myself, and it means even more now post-Roe. Take charge of your bodily autonomy and reproductive health in the ways that work best for you, and support your fellow people in what works for them. Thanks for listening!
Duration:00:14:45
Favorite Horror Comedies
3/13/2024
Zach joins Caitlin to review a list of favorite horror comedies - some old, some new, and some that might just be funny to us. Let us know if you think we missed any! Just do so gently, for we are sensitive.
Tangents include: Candy's house, sandwiches, cosplay, Victor meeting Bruce Campbell, white boy songs, CiCi's, spiders, and pets.
Duration:01:33:29
Happy Death Day: Eat It, Bitch
3/5/2024
Brother episode with off-the-charts sibling energy. Zach and Charlie join Caitlin to cover Happy Death Day, a 2017 horror comedy that features a time loop. We talk about how the time loop trope is great for setting up second chances and character redemption, and we go over funny moments from the movie.
Tangents include: ring tones, physical media, cake, cookies, Ukrop's, cereal, crunching/chewing/misophonia, oatmeal, weapons, phone cases, and hot takes. Special guest "appearance" from "Ryan."
Duration:01:20:00
Scream: What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?
2/27/2024
Elizabeth joins Caitlin to talk about 1996's Scream, a movie that invigorated not just the slasher subgenre, but horror on the whole. We discuss meta storytelling, satire, subversion, and final girls, and we give Scream all the love it deserves. Tangents include: bangs, ghostface mask ideas, socks, driving, sirens in songs, the rock-and-roller to children’s-performer pipeline, lady tropes in horror, and spooking yourself with creepypastas late at night.
Duration:01:39:33
Horror Movies That Deserve A Second Chance
2/20/2024
Mary joins Caitlin to talk about horror movies that deserve a second chance. These movies aren't necessarily "underrated" (because that means different things to different people, especially depending upon familiarity with the genre), but they're movies that got written off too soon. They deserve a second look; at least we think they do. Let us know if there are any you'd add to the list.
Duration:01:29:24
Poor Things: Furious Jumping
2/13/2024
Maddie and Colleen join Caitlin to cover Poor Things, the new surrealist, steampunk epic from Yorgos Lanthimos. We talk about the stellar performances from Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe, and we look at themes around sex, sexuality, identity, existentialism, gender, and bodily autonomy. There's also lots of silly joking around. The review starts around 21:45.
Tangents include: running bits, Barbie, boyfriend jumpscares, "weird Mormon pants cults," turning non-horror properties into horror properties, putting our consciousness in other bodies/robots, sleepwear, favorite toes, inedibles, wedding desserts ("that make you nut"), sperm (sorry), and letting it linger.
Duration:01:59:38
Saltburn: Bathwater Babes
2/6/2024
Mary joins Caitlin to cover Saltburn, the new controversial new black comedy from Emerald Fennell. As degenerate weirdos, we loved it, but not everyone did. We talk about the controversy, and we analyze themes (obsession, weatlh, manipulation, and more). Did you know there are two movies where Barry Keoghan slurps something, and this is not the one that traumatized Mary?
Tangents include: Kylie Jenner, Jared Leto, The Purge, texting, phones, babies, Tom Green, eating the rich, semen, Twilight throuples, wedding songs, wedding desserts, height, backpacks, and a good selection of FMKs and WYRs.
Duration:01:50:31
Impromptu Hatersode on Exorcist: Believer
1/30/2024
Navigating a pivot in plans, Mary joins Caitlin to cover David Gordon Green's recent body of work. We mostly chat about Exorcist: Believer, but we also talk about DGG's Halloween trilogy. To put it kindly, we weren't huge fans of Exorcist: Believer - partly because it tries to cash in on nostalgia and politics in cringe ways, and partly because it's just a bad sequel. Not even Ann Dowd could save it! Good for Ellen Burstyn for getting that bag, though.
Tangents include: general hater vibes, trends, engagement rings, Kohl's, suburban luxury, and Saltburn. Be sure to check out Skin of a Killer, the Twilight podcast we do with our buddy Charlie. Next week we'll be back with a regular review.
Duration:01:08:54
May: Making Friends
1/23/2024
Eric from Bloody Good Horror joins Caitlin to cover May, a cult classic from 2002. Many of us - for better or worse - have related to May at some point. She's an often-overlooked icon of the monstrous feminine, and we wanted to give her her due. We talk about themes of isolation, identity, and being an outsider, and we look at symbols around dolls and fragmentation.
Tangents include: BGH origins, college loneliness, shoveling snow, favorite films, gangster movies, desert island books, songs of the moment, vampire universes, sleep sounds, scenes that made us horror fans, tea, and feet.
Be sure to check out Bloody Good Horror and HY-FY! And remember: if you can't find a friend, make one.
Duration:01:12:44
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: May I Kill Him?
1/16/2024
Mary and Charlie join Caitlin to cover The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the impactful David Fincher thriller. It's got it all: high stakes, revenge, heists, mysteries, Happy Meals, and more. We look at themes of misogyny, violence against women, and intuition vs politeness.
Tangents include: merkins, piercings, accents, Emma Stone, booktok, ramen, childhood aspirations, summer vs winter, takeout, Charlie's wedding, mean eggs, mean milk, sleep habits, Disney jams, Titanic, muppets, beverages, and a cutlery FMK. If you enjoy the goofiness of this episode, check us out over at Skin of a Killer.
SAIL AWAY! SAIL AWAY! SAIL AWAY!
Duration:02:01:19
Only Lovers Left Alive: Slow-Livin' Cutie Pies
1/9/2024
Soju from Straight Chilling Podcast joins Caitlin to discuss Only Lovers Left Alive, an indulgent 2013 vampire movie from Jim Jarmusch. We talk about brooding, the arts and humanities, love and companionship, and O-negative popsicles. Vampirism 101, really.
Tangents include: blood types, FMK for Anne Rice vamps, which emojis are the most sinister, beverage fountains, Say Yes to the Dress, Great British Baking Show, books, lighting preferences, and upcoming movies.
Duration:01:31:05
Year Ender: 2023 Horror
1/2/2024
Zach, Mary, Charlie, and Colleen join Caitlin to discuss the best and worst of horror in 2023. We cover our favorite and least favorite horror movies of the year, as well as our favorite horror shows. We also talk about trends in the genre, theater experiences, our favorite Plug It Up moments, and our hopes for 2024 horror. We come in SWINGING, both for movies and for one another.
Tangents include: karaoke songs, Hogwarts houses, so-bad-they're-good movies, owls, magic 8 balls, seasonal foods, gas lights, Disney characters, cringe teenage moments, chores, tattoos, drinks, sauces, and more.
Happy new year! Thank you all for your support!
Duration:02:15:30
The Nun: A Spitting Good Time
12/27/2023
Christian joins Caitlin to cover The Nun, the biggest box office success from the CCU (Conjuring Cinematic Universe). We talk about nuns (and nunneries), snakes, religion (and religious trauma), spitting, and the Marvelization of the later Conjuring movies. We give this underrated movie some love, and we talk about how the literal blood of Jesus Christ isn't that far off when it comes to relic/reliquary madness.
Tangents include: hot Patrick Wilson, Titanic, our artistic pal Milissa, Breaking Dawn, Hogwarts houses, the Holy Foreskin, Disney characters, first cell phones, seasonal food items, driving with the gas light on, "so bad they're good" horror movies, crypitds, drinks, and fantasy theater experiences.
Be sure to check out It's Only a Podcast, Teach-Her-Ama, and The Third Act Podcast!
Duration:02:23:02
Assigning Zodiac Signs to Horror Characters: Part One
12/19/2023
Colleen and Maddie join Caitlin to assign "big three" astrological placements to popular horror characters. Three queer, horror-obsesed women talking about astrology, boygenius, and doms/subs? Groundbreaking! But hey. It's FUN. We have a great time, and we make strong cases for our designations. Characters covered on this episode: Carrie White from Carrie, Nina from Black Swan, Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, Jennifer Check from Jennifer's Body, Thomasin from the Witch, Rose from Get Out, Jay from It Follows, Justine from Raw, Maxine from X, Dani from Midsommar, and Norman Bates from Psycho. We'll definitelydo another episode to cover more horror chracters.
Tangents include: famous bottoms of history, towers vs bunkers, utensils, senior yearbook photos, farm chores, mascots, Maddie's hoarded memes, and more!
Duration:02:16:34
Huesera: The Bone Woman
12/12/2023
Charlie and Matt join Caitlin to talk about Huesera, a recent Mexican-Peruvian horror movie that features a new take on the monstrous motherhood trope. We explore themes around identity and family, and we look at motifs regarding spiders, ritual, and religion. Definitely worth a watch. Forgive our many bone(r) jokes and our exaggerated pronunciation.
Tangents include: the Virgin of Guadalupe, cool aunts, La Milpa, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, movie sequels, cereal, desserts, soccer (el futbol, as we deftly clarify), weird dreams, signs we'd been taken over by a pod person, sleep styles, and an FMK for comfort items. Shoutout to our buddy Golob, who was named dropped a few times.
Nobody puts baby in the refrigerator!
Duration:01:38:55