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“You will obey without hesitation, my every command.”

Do women belong in positions of power? We’ve been taught to believe that the “gentler sex” is regulated by emotion and not to be trusted with important decisions. After all, what’s to stop her from becoming hysterical and pushing a button that destroys the world? Maybe the glass ceiling exists for a reason.

While reductive and infuriating, this ideology has been fueling patriarchal oppression for centuries. We’re threatened by women with unchecked power and many older films seemingly exist to reinforce this message. At first glance Christian Duguay’s Scanners III: The Takeover feels like a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing women to take control. But has this larger-than-life story and its fabulous villain aged into a tale of female empowerment?

Helena Monet (Liliana Komorowska) is a Scanner tormented by painful headaches and intrusive thoughts. Adopted by a wealthy entrepreneur,...

“Burn anything you’re afraid of. Burn anything you can’t control.”

When we think of patriarchal systems of oppression, it’s usually men we find at the helm. The patriarchy itself is a model of societal control based on the heteronormative nuclear family. Its survival is dependent on men in positions of leadership bolstered by subservient women convinced to work against their own best interests. But the “fairer sex” is just as capable of orchestrating our own destruction. In fact, many women feed the patriarchy with a patented blend of religious fervor and fear-mongering wrapped in delicate grace and perpetual victimhood. Co-host Rocco Thompson may describe Christophe Gans’ Silent Hill as “Francis Bacon and Hieronymus Bosch having a fuckfest in Chernobyl,” but this slyly progressive film also reveals the dangers of blind allegiance to a matriarchy just as toxic as anything men could create.

Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) may seem...

“Can I rely on you not to get me killed?”

What happens to our souls when we die? Do we return in another body to live life again? Do we wink out of existence like an imploding star? Or do we become ghostly spirits, doomed to haunt the world of the living? If this is what waits for us when our bodies expire, what form will our ethereal spirit’s take? Will we appear as our ideal selves, at the peak of our physical existence? Or will we be doomed to spend eternity confronting the remnants of our demise, our final moment etched into our skin till the end of time? Steve Beck’s Thir13en Ghosts presents just such a fate. Not only are twelve angry spirits forced to appear as representatives of their brutal deaths, they’ve been trapped in a house and conscripted to serve an even more upsetting agenda.

“Needs moar bewbs.”

After kicking September off with discussions of Tim Burton’s classic Beetlejuice (listen) and the modern zombie film The Girl With All the Gifts (listen), we’ve finally reached our 300th episode! To celebrate this milestone, we’re doing a 6-week theme month of Diva/Anniversary worship (running all the way through Halloween), and we’re starting by revisiting a film we covered in one of our earliest episodes so that we can give it the proper, modern HQ treatment: Karyn Kusama‘s Jennifer’s Body (2009)!

In Jennifer’s Body, When popular girl Jennifer (Megan Fox) is possessed by a demon after a botched ritual, she turns a hungry eye on guys who never stood a chance with her before. While Jennifer satisfies her appetite for human flesh with the school’s male population, her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) learns what’s happening and vows to put an end to the carnage.

“I always thought the only alien in this high school was me.”

In 1985, John Hughes set a template for high school archetypes in his classic film The Breakfast Club. The brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess and the criminal became part of our collective consciousness while expanding ideas of adolescent identity. But 13 years later, these stereotypical roles had begun to feel stifling. While reassuring to know that each identity is valid, the tendency to define your life by an external ideal could keep young adults from overcoming the fear of being themselves. In 1998, Robert Rodriguez applied a sci-fi lens to these classic archetypes in The Faculty, a teen horror film that explores the terror of conformity. A high school faculty taken over by monsters becomes the backdrop for a nuanced dissection of stereotypical expectations and discontent adolescence in a treacherous high school environment built to dehumanize.

Casey (Elijah Wood...

“Things get messy when you make a deal with the devil.”

Babysitters occupy a unique place in society. Somewhere between child and adult, they step into the family system for a brief moment in time to hold the line of parental responsibility. Of course people of all ages and identities can and do babysit, but when we think of the amateur profession, it’s a high school girl that usually comes to mind. She is polite, demure, and responsible, young enough to kick back and have fun with the kids, but old enough to take charge in the event of a crisis. Cosplaying the role of mother, she often becomes an object of sexual desire and stereotypical temptation for discontent fathers and curious young boys. McG plays with this enigmatic archetype in The Babysitter, a satanic horror comedy featuring one of the coolest and most endearing antagonists in recent horror memory.

“That’s what I am to you, isn’t it? Swamp trash, just like my mom.”

We’ve all heard stories about Florida Man. Maybe he lost a wrestling match with an alligator, dropped his keys into a pit of snakes, or fell into a flaming dumpster as it floated off to sea. Whatever the case, this southern miscreant has a reputation for spectacularly trashy and ill-advised behavior. And it seems we can’t get enough. But decades before the world regaled the misadventures of Florida Man, John McNaughton gave us Wild Things, a sleazy, sun-baked noir about a troublesome Florida polycule. This salacious film not only features steamy performances from Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon – each playing their own delightful versions of a proto-Florida Man – but two sexy lady killers who set the screen on fire with their seductive scheming and in-your-face sexuality.

Sam Lombardo (Dillon) is a dreamy...

With Now Showing, your Halloweenies gather each month for a review on something new and something old in horror. This month, co-hosts Rachel Reeves and McKenzie Gerber are joined by editor and Lady Killers co-host Mae Schults. Together, they discuss Longlegs, MaXXXine, Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever, Onibaba, Stripped to Kill, and Lisa and the Devil.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and Chucky. This year? Alien.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for even more hilariously irreverent commentaries and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals. Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.

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“You know I don’t like blondes.”

When referring to orgasm, the French use the term la petite mort which literally translates to “the little death.” At first glance, this seems morbid – why would we want to think of our own mortality in such a moment of extreme ecstasy – but at closer glance, sex and death may have more in common than meets the naked eye. After all, who hasn’t enjoyed the feeling of death and rebirth while basking in the glow of post-coital relief? Films dedicated to each bear out this connection as well. Horror and porn, both maligned and misunderstood, deal with bodies on screen – the giving and receiving of exquisite pleasure or pain. And that’s not to mention the many phallic weapons and stabbing acts of penetration scary movies are known for. Ti West explores this overlap in his throwback slasher X. By following the...

“The Queen must ride alone.”

Grief is the great equalizer. No matter how hard we try to repress our pain after facing immense loss, sooner or later, the overwhelming emotions will find their way to the surface. Sometimes it feels good to let the feelings fly and other times–largely due to our surroundings–expressing grief sparks a spiral of shame that only leads to more pain and sorrow. Ari Aster’s Midsommar tackles themes of repression and catharsis in a sunny folk horror film that hits like a breath of fresh air. By following Dani (Florence Pugh) on a journey to accept her pain, we watch her rid herself of a great emotional burden and finally find peace in the depths of her sorrow. But are her actions murderous? Are they understandable? What would we do if placed in the same position? The Lady Killers podcast teases apart this tangled web of toxicity,...

“They’re not as nihilistic as they look on the internet. That’s just what they want you to think.”

If there’s one thing Gen X and Elder Millennials have over the youth of today, it’s the memory of life before the Internet. We committed our mistakes without phone cameras constantly rolling and our youthful mistakes have been lost to time. Sure we were limited by geographical location and had to actually (gasp) talk on the phone, but we maintained a physical presence in all interactions and had to answer for our missteps as they stared us in the face. Halina Reijn takes a group of Gen Z friends back to this archaic reality in Bodies Bodies Bodies, a murder mystery set during a wifi-disrupting storm. Forced to interact without the assistance of a screen, these toxic friends descend into murderous chaos.

Just six weeks after sobering up,...

“You see, I’ve always wanted a little girl.”

School’s out for the summer and it’s time to roll up our sleeping bags, forge our physicals, put on our camp shirts, and head out to the woods. Sleepaway camp is often the first significant time kids spend outside of their homes and can be an opportunity to build independence and a sense of self-worth. At a normal camp, that is. Camp Arawak may just be the worst case scenario. In addition to horrific bullies and creepy cooks, there’s a killer lurking among the canoes and cabins. Someone is murdering counselors and campers alike and no one knows who will be next.

Angela (Felissa Rose) is a quiet girl headed to camp with only her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten) to protect her. And it’s a good thing he’s there. Counselor Meg (Katherine Kamhi) and mean girl...

“It has nothing to do with Satan, Mama. It’s me. Me. If I concentrate hard enough, I can move things”

Is it possible to go to prom these days without thinking about Carrie? Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel has become so ingrained in the zeitgeist that it’s nearly impossible to shop for a prom dress without a fleeting fear that it might become covered in blood. And perhaps that’s a good thing. Revolutionary at the time, the story concludes with a shocking act of righteous revenge, but mixed into the wreckage is a cautionary tale about bullying and religious abuse. Carrie may wield the fiery hand of justice in the film’s final act, but only after a lifetime of victimization at the hands of her classmates and mother. Maybe thinking about Carrie and the real life outcasts that share her...

“And don’t anyone say ‘April Fool’s’ again or I’ll rip them apart!”

What is it about the first day of April that makes us want to torture our friends? History tells us that just about every culture honors a day where tricks are not only celebrated, they’re the law of the land. In the west, we recognize April Fool’s Day – an auspicious 24-hour stretch in which the rules of logic and truth no longer apply. From gimmicky corporate announcements to fake positive pregnancy tests, the first day in April is a virtual smorgasbord of deceit designed to get a laugh or incredulous grin out of unsuspecting dupes. But sometimes the tricks go too far. While commitment to the bit may be admirable, not everyone enjoys having the rug pulled out from under them and many a friendship has died on the April Fools altar. The...

“So hungry was I to realize my own powers, I hardly even chewed.”

We’ve all grown up hearing the classic fairytale. A brother and sister are turned out of their home and sent by their wicked stepmother to survive in the deep, dark woods. The ingenious Hansel leaves a trail of pebbles and breadcrumbs to find the way home, but they eventually fall into the clutches of a sinister witch. While Gretel does get credit for pushing the old witch into the oven before she can roast and eat Hansel, most of the story’s heroism still falls on male shoulders. But what if Gretel was actually the one responsible for the sibling’s survival? What if it’s her courage and fortitude that saves the day while her brother is little more than a burden? Oz Perkins’s nightmarish film turns the classic fairy tale on its head...

“I’m an English teacher, not fucking Tomb Raider.”

What does it mean to be a strong woman? Is it visible muscles à la Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day? Is it impressive feats of strength like climbing a mountain or braving white water? Is it putting yourself in harm’s way to save a friend? As it turns out, the answer is all–and none–of the above. There is no one way to be a “strong woman.” Sometimes it’s as simple as just showing up for the hard moments. Writer/director Neil Marshall explores the concept of female strength in his 2005 The Descent, a harrowing story of friendship and betrayal, strength and survival. In their latest episode, the Lady Killers kick off a series on Hidden Horrors by descending into the complicated themes of this terrifying film and facing off against the monsters lurking within the human heart.

Presented by Lisa Frankenstein, 1989 Week is dialing the clock back to the crossroads year for the genre with a full week of features that dig six feet under into the year. Today, The Lady Killers revisit Diablo Cody’s 2009 slice of horror, Jennifer’s Body.

“Hell is a teenage girl.”

By now it’s safe to say that the world was not ready for Jennifer’s Body when it first released in 2009. Call it bad marketing, Juno fatigue, or audience aversion to a female-led horror comedy, this progressive film not only bombed at the box office, it sent director Karyn Kusama to what she calls “movie jail” for the better part of the next decade. But nearly fifteen years later, this beloved film about female empowerment seems to have finally found its audience. Not only is it a prime example of Boys In Danger horror, but Kusama and writer Diablo Cody take...

“If you ever come near my family again, I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”

We’ve all heard the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” We pull it out when we see a woman reacting to the hurtful choices of a romantic partner, standing up for herself after rejection, or really expressing any kind of powerful emotions at all. It’s a bon mot so pervasive that it makes you wonder if there are any men in hell. Maybe it’s all just hysterical women pulling hair and trying to steal each other’s boyfriends. Regardless of this reductive phrase and dehumanizing stereotype, few films in the history of cinema explore the concept of the scorned woman like Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction. This cautionary tale about infidelity and revenge pits two women against each other for the love of one man with a surprising female killer emerging from the wreckage.

“Love is stronger than death… even than life.”

Twenty-five years before Bram Stoker revolutionized the world of horror with his iconic novel Dracula, another sensual vampire was drifting into the moonlit bedchambers of society’s upper crust. First appearing in a 1871 edition of the literary magazine The Dark Blue, Carmilla, a.k.a. Mircalla, Countess Karnstein, preys upon unsuspecting young women in the crumbling castles of the Austrian countryside. Despite never gaining the ubiquity of Stoker’s dark antagonist, Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic novella Carmilla is one of the world’s first examples of vampiric literature and helped to establish the archetype of the lesbian vampire. Belgian director Harry Kümel combines this foundational text with the true story of Hungarian serial killer Elizabeth Báthory to create another sinister seductress in his 1971 erotic horror film Daughters of Darkness.

Newlyweds Stefan (John Karlen) and Valerie (Danielle Ouimet) are still enjoying the...

“You’ll have to hide better than that.”

We’ve all got that one bad ex in our past. At first they seemed like a dream come true – an angel sent straight from heaven to be our perfect match. They were attractive, spontaneous, generous, kind … We spent most of our time indulging in months-long bone-a-thons and we just figured the future would take care of itself! And then we met the inlaws. Fortunately, no matter how stressful these “meet the parents” occasions may have been, they probably don’t hold a candle to what Grace (Samara Weaving) endures in Ready or Not. This gorgeous bride has just married the man of her dreams at a lavish estate wearing god’s gift to wedding dresses only to find out that she’s unwittingly entered into a bizarre gaming ritual that might end up costing her life.

This 2019 film from Radio Silence...