On the penultimate episode of our female directors in horror series: it’s slasher week!!! The girls talk weapons mechanisms, female friendships, and the indelible impact of R.L. Stine in service of discussing Amy Holden Jones’ smash hit cult classic The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) and Leigh Janiak’s adaptation-stravaganza, Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021).

Mike Muncer’s Evolution of Horror on The Slumber Party Massacre

The gals discuss two spooky-but-not-haunted-stuff-happening-inside-remote-houses movies by two (three) repeat directors: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Lodge (2019) and Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation (2015). Also covered: stuff about owning cats, Sinners, and a check-in on where we’re at so far.

Next week is slasher week, where we’ll cover The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) and the initial trilogy of Fear Street (2021) movies.

This week, the gals cover two serial killer flicks directed by women: Chloe Okuno’s Watcher from 2022 and Mary Harron’s American Psycho from 2000. Other topics include: marriage, The Chronicles of Narnia, and wiggy wiggy wigs.

This week, the gals dive deep into female-directed horror about cannibalism, discussing Mimi Cave’s 2022 Fresh and Julia Ducourneau’s 2016 Raw. Gross!

Next week’s movies will be two entries into the serial killer genre: American Psycho (2000) and Watcher (2022).

The girls open by talking about the upcoming horror releases of the Non-Halloween-Horror-High-Season (and also the Pride & Prejudice 20th anniversary, the new Hunger Games book, and American Apparel disco pants) before getting into two of our scariest female filmmaker entries yet: 2014’s Goodnight Mommy directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, and 2022’s Huesera: The Bone Woman directed by Michelle Garza Cervera.

Alex and Emmy start out by discussing the phenomenon of Oscars campaigning, along with some chat about this year’s Academy Award-winning studio, Neon, and what kind of movies they’re looking to make.

Then, they unpack two excellent genre entries that play on themes of motherhood, Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny (2022) and Laura Moss’ Birth/Rebirth (2023).

The gals open up with some book and TV chat about what else they’re watching, do a brief review of Season 3 of Showtime’s Yellowjackets *so far*, and then get into two vampire flicks directed by women, Stephanie Rothman’s The Velvet Vampire from 1971 and Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 horror-western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Buckle up, bloodsuckers!

The gals are back to talk about two movies about women driven to the brink of madness with special guest host Abby McDonnell (formerly of the two-part episodic extravaganza we called the Tortured Psychos Department). We discuss Mika Ninagawa’s 2012 film, Helter Skelter, and 2024 Oscar nominated The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, and chat a bit about the phenomenon of horror at the Academy Awards.

Emmy’s piece from 2022 on Graphic Violence on TV:

Become a paying subscriber at nicheandpotatoes.substack.com

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @nicheandpotatoes

Join us next week for our coverage of The Velvet Vampire (1971) and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).

On this week’s episode, the girls cover two works written and directed by Jennifer Kent: 2014’s feature film The Babadook and a 2022 episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, “The Murmuring.” Let’s talk about grief, baby!

Vox: How the Babadook became the LGBTQ icon we didn’t know we needed

Join us next week for Coraline Fargeat’s Oscar-nominated The Substance, and Mika Ninagawa’s Helter Skelter, and discussions about the prison of female beauty!

In the second week of our season on female filmmakers in horror, the gals get into heavy ~themes~ discussing Rose Glass’ 2019 Saint Maud and Natalie Erika James’ 2020 Relic.

The Evolution of Horror with Mike Muncer