On today’s episode we’re talking The Curse of La Llorona (2019), Michael Chaves’ ode to the popular Mexican folk story in which a ghostly woman in white stalks and kills young children. Does this horror film introduce some much needed Latinx representation into American horror film or does its potential go unmet? And how does the film’s positioning of a white woman as the heroine impact audience spectatorship? We’re a divided Horror Homeroom crew on this episode, so stay tuned!
In today’s episode, we’re wading into Alexandre Aja’s Crawl. Now, we all know that Jaws made a generation afraid to go into the ocean, but does this film’s ode to bloodthirsty alligators offer up a similar heart-pounding experience? And why are we so afraid of what lurks within the water? We’re giving some gator love on this episode, so stay tuned!
And side note, for some inexplicable reason I kept saying crocodile when, in fact, our underwater stalkers are alligators. And as my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Moon, spent many weeks explaining, there is a difference.
From using queer bodies to shock audiences to lecherous lesbians to effeminate gay men, the history of LGBTQ+ horror film is a very mixed bag. In part two of our School’s Out series for June, we’re diving into the history of queer horror film and considering how evolving concepts of monstrosity correlate to cultural attitudes on queerness. We’re also giving our top 10 list of favorite non-horror LGBTQ+ titles to celebrate Pride 2019! Read more
What do murder sprees and conversion therapy camp have in common? According to our latest podcast, everything! In part one of our School’s Out series for June, we’re pairing one horror film with one non-horror film in order to show the fluidity of the genre. In this episode, we’re celebrating Pride 2019 by breaking down all of the components that make But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) and Psycho Beach Party (2000) so darn irresistible. From camp culture to gender norms to killer soundtracks, these two films leverage a specifically queer sensibility in order to remind viewers that to be labeled ‘different’ is not always a bad thing. Read more
It’s a totally bitchin’ two for one on this episode of Horror Homeroom Conversations in which we head back to the 1980s with Todd Strauss-Schulson’s The Final Girls (2015) and François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s Summer of 84 (2018). Criminally underrated, both films deploy depictions of nostalgia in order to reflect and then disrupt audience expectation of Reagan’s America. In doing so, each film reveals a surprising depth that challenges horror film conventions.
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