The Monstrous Feminine Louisa, Mila, Tyia & Zeba

This month we’re tackling dreams in horror. Our first film is the seminal 1984 horror ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’, directed by Wes Craven. 💤🛏️🩸😵📞👅

In this episode we talk about how this film set the bar for the dream horror canon. We also debate the Freudian and monstrous-feminine readings of this film, and ponder how modern audiences might receive this film differently. Finally, we discuss how iconic slasher killers have become folkloric figures in popular culture.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Mila, Louisa, Tyia and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Violence, murder, death, discussions of sexual assault, paedophilia, child abuse and castration

Our last children in horror episode is the 2001 horror mystery ‘The Devil's Backbone’, directed by Guillermo del Toro. 👹🔙🦴

In this episode we talk about how the characters function as allegories for the many different political allegiances within the Spanish Civil War. We also delve into horror as a political tool, and how ghosts frequently symbolise the repressed trauma of a collective. Finally, we discuss how this film problematizes how we view innocence, and shows how men are denied empathy in wartimes.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Tyia, Louisa and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Violence, murder, death (specifically, death of a child), discussions of war (specifically, the Spanish Civil War) and fascism.

Continuing our children in horror theme, we’re tackling the 1999 psychological thriller ‘The Sixth Sense’, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. 👂👅👃✋👁6️⃣

In this episode we debate the different depictions of motherhood and fatherhood, address why this film works so well as a ghost story, and discuss how ‘The Sixth Sense’ makes a poignant commentary on familial communication and grief.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Tyia, Louisa and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Violence, murder, death (specifically, the death of children), discussions of self harm, domestic abuse, gun violence and fabricated induced illness

This month our theme is children in horror, and we’re kicking off with the 1984 horror classic ‘Children of the Corn’ directed by Fritz Kiersch. 👦🏻🌽✝️👧🏼🌽✝️

In this episode we discuss how the presence of children affects the genre, and what children symbolise in horror. We also identify the folk horror elements of this film, and discuss how it operates as a commentary on religious fanaticism in America.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Tyia, Louisa and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Discussions of murder, violence, death (specifically, the death of children) and a brief description of domestic abuse

Our last folk horror film of the month is the 2022 psychodrama ‘Enys Men’, directed by Mark Jenkin. 🗿☎️🚤📻🔦📘

For us, this film raises the central question: what do you want from horror? I.e., do you like style (vibes) or substance (plot)? Is style without substance just monotonous? We debate this film’s effectiveness, and then go into the potential political and socioeconomic readings of the film, and discuss how it may be using nature and folk horror traditions to comment on industrialism and trade unionism in Thatcherite Britain.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Mila, Louisa, Tyia and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Death and climate anxiety

Continuing with our folk horror theme, our next movie of the month is the 2019 film ‘Impetigore’, directed by Joko Anwar. 🏚🤰🏽​​🌲👺

In this episode we discuss the many thrilling slasher tropes in this film, talk about how ‘Impetigore’ plays with the folk horror subgenre conventions, and finally, we locate this film’s true horror: the wrath of ‘boy moms’.

You can find us on most platforms @themonstrousfemininepodcast, and on Twitter, @themonfempod. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Engage with our content across all platforms to be our next ‘Witch of the Week’, and pledge to us on Patreon! ✨

The Coven: Mila, Louisa, Tyia and Zeba
Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro

*CONTENT WARNING*
Violence, murder, death, intergenerational trauma, rape, femicide and infanticide