We are joined by a very special guest: Payton McCarthy-Simas, author of That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film, to dive deep into Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem (2012) — a hypnotic, polarising, and deeply uncanny entry in modern witch cinema.

Payton brings their expertise on American witch narratives to unpack the film’s hallucinatory imagery, its lineage in Puritan panic, and its portrayal of witchcraft as both a site of feminist resistance and profound horror.

We trace the film’s depiction of addiction, grief, and bodily vulnerability, and explore how Zombie reimagines the witch’s coven as a force that is at once communal, grotesque, and defiantly powerful.

Join us as we interrogate whether The Lords of Salem offers liberation or damnation; how the film echoes real histories of persecution; and what it means to place a woman at the centre of a cosmic ritual she cannot escape. Expect discussions of trauma, ritual spectacle, psychedelic horror, and the complicated politics of representing female and non-binary bodies within witchcraft narratives.

Tune in for an episode that’s part cultural excavation, part fever dream.

****Payton is an author, programmer, film critic, and video artist with a focus on horror and genre film. Their writing has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, Film Daze, and The Brooklyn Rail among others, as well as spotlighted in The New York Times, CNN, and RogerEbert.com. Her short films and screenplays have been featured in several film festivals as well as shown at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. She is also the author of two books of nonfiction and film criticism, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture (2024) and That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film (2025).  Payton holds a Masters in Film and Media Studies from Columbia University and is a member of the Online Association of Female Film Critics and GALECA.

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

In this last episode of the Revenge season, we discuss two cult classics bound by grief, love, and the intoxicating lure of vengeance. Join us as we explore how The Crow ( Proyas, 1994) and Mandy (Cosmatos, 2018) blur the line between mourning and madness, tenderness and brutality.

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

In our penultimate episode, we are discussing The Brood (1979) and Pyewacket (2017), two films that explore the dark, terrifying side of the mother-daughter relationship and how emotional trauma can literally manifest in monstrous ways. We'll be delving into the concept of psychosomatic horror, where unresolved anger and deep-seated familial resentment give birth to something truly terrifying, whether it's homicidal children or a demonic entity summoned from the woods. These films show that sometimes, the greatest source of terror and the deepest motivation for revenge comes from the people closest to us.

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

In this episode, we are discussing Carrie (1976) and Sissy (2022), two films that examine the terrifying intersection of bullying, social isolation, and the ultimate, explosive backlash from a teen pushed to her limits.

We're exploring how both films tap into the profound fear of the outcast, showing the devastating consequences of relentless torment and how a desire for acceptance can curdle into a magnificent, destructive rage.

So, get ready to feel the heat, because hell hath no fury like a teenage girl!

In this episode, we are discussing Ms. 45 (Ferrara, 1981) and Revenge (Fargeat, 2017), two films that take the "rape-revenge" subgenre and turn it on its head. We're looking at how these films transform a victim into a vigilante, reclaiming their agency and power through brutal, unapologetic acts of violence. We explore the catharsis and controversy of this trope, and question what it reveals about the deep-seated societal anger surrounding sexual violence.

So, prepare for a bloody and brutal journey, because these women aren't just getting even—they're starting a war.

In this episode, we are discussing Hard Candy and Gone Girl , two films that show how the quiet, intellectual girl-next-door can become the most terrifying avenging angel.

We'll be looking at how female intelligence and cunning can be weaponised in a hyper-masculine world to expose and ultimately destroy the men who seek to exploit them. We'll also explore how these films flip the script on who is the victim and who is the perpetrator, leaving the audience to question their own moral compass.

Revenge is a dish best served cold, and these women are masters of the slow burn...

In this episode, we are discussing Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Morgiana (1972), two films that show how the poisonous brew of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and psychological manipulation can turn a house into a cage and a family into a battlefield. We'll be looking at how revenge is not always an external force but can fester from within, leading to a slow, methodical unraveling of the mind and the ultimate destruction of a family.

So, lock your doors, and check on your loved ones, because the call is coming from inside the house.

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

In this episode, we are discussing Lady Vengeance (2005) and Ballerina (2023), two films that show the immense power of female rage and the methodical, brutal lengths our heroines go to in order to seek retribution. We'll be looking at the difference between the collective and personal nature of revenge, how trauma fuels the desire for justice, and how these films challenge the traditional portrayal of women as passive victims.

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

Welcome to Season 3, "Revenge”, exploring the many and varied motivations for Women to seek revenge in horror.

This season, we’ll be looking at how revenge manifests, the different forms it takes, and importantly, we’ll be questioning why there’s been a tendency to gender this concept.

In this episode, we are discussing Play Misty for Me (1971) and Fatal Attraction (1987), two films that helped define the "erotic thriller" subgenre and sparked a moral panic around female rage. We'll be delving into the tropes of the spurned lover and the "bunny boiler" to understand what these films reveal about societal anxieties surrounding female independence, desire, and retribution.

So, grab your headphones and maybe lock your doors, because things are about to get unhinged!

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Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows

Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg

"The killer is a maniac. But his mind works in a semi-logical pattern. which has a reasonable meaning for him." 

We're joined by Matt Rogerson, author of 'The Vatican Versus Horror Movies' (McFarland, 2024), and the upcoming Fulci’s Inferno (2025), to discuss their unique insights into the intersections of the world of horror cinema and faith. We discuss Matt's work and influences, and dissect Lucio Fulci's 1972 Gialli masterpiece 'Don't Torture a Duckling'. Hold on to your ears for this one

***WARNING: Spoilers, explicit language***

Matt Rogerson works in Health & Social Care Research Regulation. His film analysis specialises in the intersections between Horror and Roman Catholicism. His books, The Vatican versus Horror Movies (2024) and Fulci’s Inferno: Faith in the Films of a Giallo and Horror Auteur (2025), are published by McFarland & Co. He also features in House of Leaves Publishing’s Filtered Reality: The Progenitors and Evolution of Found Footage Horror and Palgrave MacMillan’s forthcoming The Handbook of the Zombie, and Arrow Video releases Exorcist 2: The Heretic and Zombie Flesh Eaters. He is the Managing Editor and owner of 1428 Publishing Ltd, whose first book Darkest Margins: Essays on Liminality & Liminal Spaces in the Horror Genre will be published later this year.

Pre-order 'Fulci's Inferno' Matt's exploration of Faith in the Films of Lucio Fulci here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fulcis-Inferno-Horror-Giallo-Auteur/dp/1476696772/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1V5FXPW0FH713&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AdMTgYz0rabdsZ6wCtUyaINsCAKtqjc_rq05qKYMZ8Jv39KnNqe12AEc32XVl_WYwLYF-Xvx7qy2sYuQP0FprqREOEPKir4PYLPXCrSqSOGkuKx14HBIX6D15-yccXmuMwZAodQA2KfX3hVvFegck6LLgYTI4YcvOmyBpHFWjPs.pu_9IL2nAiLVl_cmDvBQeDBnQpjacGNyMdcJrKvj_SI&dib_tag=se&keywords=fulci%27s+inferno&qid=1749559919&sprefix=fulci%27s+inferno%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1

Order Arrow Films' 4K release of Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters, featuring new writing by Matt here: https://www.arrowfilms.com/zombie-flesh-eaters-limited-edition-4k-uhd/16553796.html

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Find out more about Monstrous Flesh and upcoming events www.monstrousflesh.co.ukFollow Clelia (@monstrous_flesh) and Meg (@monstrous_meg) on Instagram, Threads and X.

Sound design, editing and theme music by Adam Hynes (@adamnarrows).***Cover art by Sobi Graphie