Horror in the Margins

Let's talk beauty standards, cultural assimilation, body horror, and filmmaking, Pod People! In this episode, we chat with award-winning Aotearoan Lee Murray about the film Grafted, on which she was a writer. We discuss how she brought her lived experience as a third generation Chinese New Zealander to the script for Grafted, the relatable desire to fit in even at the cost of cultural identity, Lee's favorite bloody scene from the film, and Asian representation within the genre. 

As of the recording of this episode, Grafted was streaming on Shudder. Go check it out! 

Visit Lee's website to learn more about her incredible work: https://www.leemurray.info/

Stay spooky, Pod People! 

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

Pod People, your intrepid hosts both turned 40 this year, and we decided that called for celebration! How are we celebrating on the pod? We each picked one of our all-time favorite horror films to revisit and discuss in depth. First up is Nikki's pick - Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). Join us as we explore space in the Nostromo, ogle over mama-Xenomorph's wet-wet-wet grandeur, and empathize with the shit Jonesy has seen (poor kitty!). We discuss Sigourney Weaver's killer performance, the use of offal and milk for practical effects, and why the film endures as a personal favorite of ours.

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

In this episode, we to talk to Tracy Cross about the first two books in her Conjure series, Rootwork and A Gathering of Weapons! We discuss the differences between Hoodoo and Voodoo, fetishism and appropriation of Black culture in post-Reconstruction Louisiana, biblical retribution and ridding the world of evil, Tracy's heritage and how it influenced and inspired the Conjure series, books and shoes and all manner of things crafted out of human skin, and more! And friends, Tracy is working on more books within the series; get excited for more Hoodoo and Pee Wee and dark reckoning! 

Purchase Rootwork: 

B&N - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rootwork-tracy-cross/1142564795

Amazon - https://a.co/d/ioosFLJ

Purchase A Gathering of Weapons: 

B&N - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-gathering-of-weapons-tracy-cross/1146355861?ean=9781958598382

Amazon - https://a.co/d/4w7bYkB

Links graciously provided by Tracy related to her research into Hoodoo and other topics we discuss during our conversation:

Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft, Rootwork by Harry Middleton Hyatt 

Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom

Every Tongue Got to Confess by Zora Neale Hurston

Visit Tracy's website to learn more about her and her work: https://tracycrossonline.com/

Follow her on socials: 

IG - @tracycrosswrites

Facebook - Tracy A Cross 

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

To the moon and beyond! In this episode, we chat with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy author Pedro Iniguez about his Bram Stoker nominated poetry collection, Mexicans on the Moon: Speculative Poetry from a Possible Future. We discuss the importance of representation and inclusivity within the sci-fi and horror genres, the unique, four-part structure of Mexicans on the Moon, the themes of the collection, which range from scathing indictments of our current reality to wistful future imaginings of life on moons and other planets to eco-horror, artificial intelligence, spaghettification, and more. 

You can pick up a copy of Mexicans on the Moon anywhere you get books! Purchase or order a copy at your local indie bookstore, or order one online from: 

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/mexicans-on-the-moon-speculative-poetry-from-a-possible-future-pedro-iniguez/21672726?aid=197&ean=9798989630806&listref=space-cowboy-books-publications

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mexicans-on-the-moon-pedro-iniguez/1146059896

Check out Pedro's website to learn about all his publications and the exciting projects he has coming up: https://pedroiniguez.com/

Follow Pedro on socials: 

IG: pete_the_sneak

Bluesky: pedroiniguez.bsky.social

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

Pod People, have we got a discussion for you! We recount our adventures attending Labyrinth in Concert and Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw before diving into a conversation about Pascal Plante's Red Rooms. We chat about the real-world court case that inspired the film, crime fandom, the assumptions we made about Kelly-Anne's motives during our first watches, and that incredible score composed by the director's brother, Dominique Plante.

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

Pod People, are you ready to go underground with us? Maybe play the Elevator Game? In this episode, we speak with the incredible Sofia Ajram about his Bram Stoker-nominated novella Coup de Grâce. We discuss Greek mythology, anomalous architecture, liminal spaces, mental illness and suicidality, the myth of "purple prose," and that storytelling device toward the end of the book.

Content warning, Pod People. This episode includes frank and honest discussions about mental health, suicidal ideation, and death. Take care of yourself, and if this conversation isn't for you, check out another episode! 

You can pick up a copy of Coup de Grâce anywhere you get books! Purchase a copy at your local indie bookstore, or order one here: 

Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763774/coup-de-grace-by-sofia-ajram/ 

B&N: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/763774/coup-de-grace-by-sofia-ajram/

Visit the Coup de Grâce website for additional purchase options, the book trailer, and more: https://coupdegracebook.squarespace.com/

Check out Sofia's website: https://www.sofiaajram.com/

Follow Sofia on socials: 

IG: sofiaajram

Bluesky: sofiaajram.bsky.social 

TikTok: sofiaajram

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

You voted, we listened! In honor of the late, great David Lynch, we watched Mulholland Dr, and woo boy, do we have thoughts. We discuss Lynch's movies-within-a-movie approach, the film's exploration of the seedy underbelly of LA and the film industry, the worst criminal in the world, Americana, the inability to trust anything you see or experience in Mulholland Dr, and more. 

Do you have theories or perspectives on Mullholland Dr you'd like to share? We'd love to hear them! Email us at [email protected] or engage with us on socials.

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

In this episode, talk to Donyae Coles about her Bram Stoker-nominated novel Midnight Rooms, a Gothic fever dream of a debut! We discuss Gothic and fairytale storytelling traditions, the innate horrors of isolation, dark desire and writing sex scenes, the lack of bodily autonomy and the immense amount of gaslighting women endured in historical times, biracial heritage and otherness in Midnight Rooms, writing while neurodivergent, and much more!

Visit Donyae's website: https://donyaecoles.com/ 

Follow her on social: 

IG - artbydonyae

Bluesky - okokno.bsky.social 

Stay spooky, Pod People! 

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

Pod People, we went to a film festival! Well, kind of. As we did last year, we bought virtual Sundance Film Festival tickets and had the chance to catch Didn't Die, an apocalyptic zombie flick directed by Meera Menon. We discuss the film's obvious nods to George Romero, the different ways we as humans cope with tragedy, Indian representation in horror, how zombie movies just feel more real since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.

Didn't Die is currently on the film festival circuit, so it isn't available to stream at this time. We do discuss some of the plot, most of which can be surmised in trailers for the film, but we were conscious not to spoil some of the twists and surprises in the film. Listen at your own risk!

Links to stuff we talk about in this episode: 

Inside the David Lynch Shrine at Bob's Big Boy - https://lamag.com/news/inside-the-david-lynch-shrine-at-bobs-big-boy 

The 'Didn't Die' Filmmakers Made a Zombie Movie About Enduring a Tragedy - Then Their House Burned Down in the Los Angeles Fires - https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/didnt-die-filmmakers-talk-losing-homes-eaton-fire-1235088117/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay

We're back for Season 3, Pod People! Did you miss us? We missed you! We're kicking off 2025 with a true mindfuck of a film, which feels very apropos given...well, everything. So settle in as we discuss Greg Jardin's It's What's Inside, which is currently streaming on Netflix. It's a body-swapping good time and a story that examines bodily autonomy, the fluidity of memory, and those feelings you have for your ex or the person you wish you'd gotten together with when you had the opportunity. The script and cinematography are clutch, too! You can check out non-spoilery reactions from 9:24 - 25:16, but after that, we gotta spoil the hell outta this film to actually discuss it.

We also begin this episode with discussion of the fires in LA that, as of the date of this posting, are still burning. If you've been affected by this tragedy or don't want to listen to us discuss it for the sake of your mental health, skip ahead to 9:24. 

Non-spoilery reactions to It's What's Inside - 9:24 - 25:16
Spoilers for days - 25:16 and on 

Links to stuff we talk about in this episode: 

LA Fire Relief Organizations: 
Pasadena Human Society - https://pasadenahumane.org/ 
World Central Kitchen - https://wck.org/
Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation - https://supportlafd.org/
Red Cross - https://www.redcross.org/ 
GoFundMe Fundraiser (specifically supporting Black communities in Altadena and surrounding areas) - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-lives-after-los-angeles-wildfires 

"How Crazy Can We Get?" Designing the Wild House of "It's What's Inside" - https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/its-whats-inside-production-design-terry-watson-1235051433/

Twitter - @HorrorMargins
Facebook - @HorrorInTheMarginsPodcast
Instagram - @horrorinthemargins
TikTok - @horrorinthemargins

If there's a movie you'd like us to review or a creator you'd like us to interview, send us an email at [email protected]. We're happy to consider your suggestions. 

Stay spooky, Pod People. 

Podcast intro - Music by The_Mountain from Pixabay
Podcast outro - Music by ComaStudio from Pixabay