Not Your Final Girl

Enter the metaverse (not that one) with us, ghouls. We had Josh and Mels from Blackheart Collective on to talk about the mechanics and interpersonal dynamics of immersive horror, along with slasher cultural reset The Cabin in the Woods (2011) and haunting ode to internet horror and the ephemeral relationships it engenders, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021).

Note: We have good news and bad news. The good news is that we restructured our recording process around the background noise in this episode. We recorded it a while ago. The bad news is that there’s a lot of background noise in this episode. We hope you like it anyway! We’re really excited about these movies, especially We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which is in theaters now.

Also we had a great time with this one. Josh watched Cabin Fever by accident (another great one), and Mels schooled us on World’s Fair history - it was a blast. We’ll always have dumbass waterfall.

If you like the sound of immersive horror theatre, check out Blackheart Collective at https://www.blackhearthorror.org/ and on instagram at black.heart.collective.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: The Cabin in the Woods (2011), We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

Listeners, we call you all ghouls for a reason, and we’re putting it to the test (again) in this episode. Get ready to consider your cosmic insignificance, the razor-thin divide between humans and livestock, and the intimate cruelties of family because we’re talking to author and film critic Gretchen Felker-Martin about torture porn grandaddy The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and its unexpected but brilliantly rancid relative The Loved Ones (2009).

If it was not clear from the previous paragraph, this double feature is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach! If that’s you, then you could always listen to us talk about it, and get an excellent book recommendation for your trouble, as well as musings on the worst possible party soundtrack, rare femcel representation, the nasty little details that make you squirm more than outright gore, and the mysteries of Roger Ebert’s mind. Did we mention the book rec? Check out Manhunt wherever you get your books and thank us later.

Gretchen Felker-Martin is a Massachusetts-based horror writer and film critic writing about the abject, the grotesque, and the sensual. You can follow her work on Twitter @scumbelievable and on Patreon under her own name.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Loved Ones (2009)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

We’re hitting the road in this episode - metaphorically, of course. Please don’t attempt to drive through the state of Texas in real life. No good can come of it. But do listen to us; we’re with Salem Horror Fest founder Kay Lynch, who brought us a double feature that tries to outrun death and chaos on the open road (spoiler: it doesn’t work). We’re talking about nightmarish and erotic coming-of-age horror thriller The Hitcher (1986), and satanic game of cat and mouse in a winnebago, Race with the Devil (1975).

We’ve got a lot of smart and interesting thoughts on these movies, but we’ve also got Rutger Hauer getting his face spat in and apparently loving it, what it takes to make a convincing dead dog, a goblin mode cam, and us not knowing where the hell Amarillo, TX is (if you know, don’t tell us. We prefer ignorance). Everything you need for an imaginary road trip! Bring snacks.

Kay Lynch is the Founder/Director of Salem Horror Fest, independent Film Producer, and Event Producer for the George A. Romero Foundation. She has produced and promoted hundreds of events in the Art, Queer, and Horror communities all over the world and supported hundreds of independent filmmakers reach global audiences.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: The Hitcher (1986), Race With The Devil (1975)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

It’s a very special episode, ghouls. Turns out it was not enough to subject ourselves, our listeners, and cool people in the community to our bullshit, we also needed to upset our horror-averse sisters as well. So today, Candace and Ariel are talking to Sammi and Eliza, our respective younger sisters, about Richard Bates Jr’s blood-soaked and deeply dysfunctional Excision (2012), and Julia Ducournau’s gorgeous cannibal banger, Raw (2016).

Sorry to these sisters, but this is one of our most vile double features yet. We’ve got bird dissection, tampon sniffing, finger munching, rash itching, aggressive hazing, the suburbs, and worst of all - the inner workings of families. Growing up is hard, not to mention strange and gross, and sometimes your parents don’t even let you in on all the psychosis/cannibalistic tendencies they’ve passed on to you. Sometimes it’s necessary to meditate on this with some never-ending hair vomit. That’s just how it is.

Do you have someone who hung out with you your whole life, serving both as comforter and tormentor, enacting the physical and psychological violence of childhood and puberty? Sit them down with these movies, and let’s go. We know they’ll forgive you for it.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: Excision (2012), Raw (2016)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

Find your low-rise jeans and come with us on a journey through time, to the epicenter of our youth: the early aughts. Candace and Ariel are talking to filmmaker LaShaunte Wade about two movies in our mental horror scrapbooks: Louisiana Gothic of menacing Spanish moss The Skeleton Key (2005), and mind-freak Millennial anthem Donnie Darko (2001).

We also talk scary grandmas, problematic jump scares, the mean streak in early 2000’s culture, thrifting tips, Ariel’s Gary Jules obsession, the sounds of Are You Afraid of the Dark, and The Cheeseburger Phone movie - you know the one. Also is Donnie Darko a Halloween romcom? Listen to find out. Trust us, we would never doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.

LaShaunte is a professional traveling chef and fashion photographer turned filmmaker, writer, and creator of Dark Creeds Productions. Her first short film, Let Them Eat, has won over 8 awards for best special fx and best female director - and 11 nominations on top of honorable mentions and over achievement awards for special fx, best actress, and best director.

Check out Dark Creeds Productions at https://www.darkcreedsproductions.com/. You can follow LaShaunte at https://www.instagram.com/lashauntewadevoa/?hl=en

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: The Skeleton Key (2005), Donnie Darko (2001)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

There’s no day like today for contemplating isolation, the futility of human connections, the depraved potential of the human soul, and how we’re all just a bunch of meat bags. Happy Valentine’s from Candace and Ariel; here’s a double feature that really hones in on these themes: George Romero’s mournfully violent Martin (1978), and one of our 2021 favorites with an appropriately emo title, My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2021).

These movies dare to ask: What if vampires were just freaky little guys who sustained their lives on human blood? Far from the animal sex appeal of Dracula, Lestat, or even those feral rage monsters in 30 Days of Night (300 days if you want to make it Spartan), these guys are dour, impoverished, chronically ill, delusional, and might bear too close a resemblance to the human beings they’re slicing open and sucking dry. Be forewarned: nothing good happens in these stories - except some unhinged karaoke, which is kind of fun.

In the mood for some actual sensuality? Ugh, fine, but it’s still going to be upsetting. Keep an eye out for our favorite horror romances over on Morbidly Beautiful.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: Martin (1978), My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2021)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

Happy New Year, ghouls! As we amble into 2022, we take the time to reflect on 2021 horror with our pals from Gag Me With a Chainsaw, Corie and Sarah. We talk the good, the bad, the ugly, and have some titles we agree on and some we don't (honestly, that always makes it more fun). Hear us talk our favorites from last year, some mentions of 2020 horror, and what we're looking out for in 2022. Maybe some of your faves made the cut! Hit us up on our socials to let us know if we missed some of the best from last year or upcoming films you're most looking forward to. 

Gag Me With a Chainsaw is a horror podcast about 80s slashers! You can find all their episodes here: https://anchor.fm/gagmewithachainsaw, and follow them on IG @gagmewithachainsaw and twitter @chainsawpodcast. We're big fans of the pod and of the hosts, and love to see another women-led horrror podcast local to Bakersfield, CA. Local podcast girl gang coming through, look out!

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

Welcome to our final episode of 2021! We’re leaving this year with a bang, ghouls. Candace and Ariel are joined by writer Alison Peirse for our most British double feature ever: Kate Shenton’s independent dark meta horror comedy about the nightmares of filmmaking, Egomaniac (2016), and Prano Bailey-Bond’s fever dream of art, unresolved trauma, and video nasties, Censor (2021).

This is one of those film pairings that seem to have nothing in common until you watch them together, otherwise known as our favorite kind. If you love to see a sympathetic (if not necessarily relatable) character struggle to force the world into the shape she wants it to be, the dark recesses of the inner mind explored, corpses arranged into little tableaus, and/or descents into madness, look no further. We also talk about Tim Curry playing a terrifying demon creature in Legend (1985), so if you don’t like any of the aforementioned things, at least stay for that.

Alison Peirse is a multi-award-winning horror writer and Associate Professor of Film. Her latest book is Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre. She also runs a horror film newsletter, The Losers' Club, which she thinks you might like.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: Egomaniac (2016) Censor (2021)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

We know the 90’s are back, and we’re fully embracing it in this episode - you’re welcome! Candace and Ariel are talking to our guest Lauren McKenzie about Friends, the WB, the Clinton scandal, and of course our Kevin Williamson double feature: era-defining meta slasher Scream (1996) and its entertaining but underwhelming follow-up, I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

Can you The Secret-style manifest meeting your heroes? Should you? Are David Arquette and Freddie Prinze Jr. the same person? Does podcasting require jazz-hands at all times? Did Rose McGowan do Columbine? And who is Dawson? You’ll have to listen to find out. Other relevant and not-so-relevant topics covered include Wes Craven ambivalence, The L Word, Anne Heche among many other tragically misunderstood 90’s women, the heyday of Sarah Michelle Gellar (justice for Helen Shivers!), and the joy of horror that caters to female audiences.

You can follow Lauren on Twitter here @TheMcKenziest: https://twitter.com/TheMcKenziest?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Here’s Sydney Sprague’s record, maybe i will see you at the end of the world https://ruderecords.bandcamp.com/album/maybe-i-will-see-you-at-the-end-of-the-world-deluxe

And Pod Mortem episode 69 (nice): I Know What You Did Last Summer:

https://thepodmortem.podbean.com/e/episode-69-i-know-what-you-did-last-summer/

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: Scream (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn

We’re officially in The Holidays, ghouls, and it’s time for some dark retellings, some real Grimm brothers shit. Candace and Ariel are talking to filmmaker Ashley George about essential Tim Burton goth feature Sleepy Hollow (1999), as well as the tragically new-to-us Snow White: a Tale of Terror (1997).

Themes of this episode include: unusual gore, witchcraft, maiden/mother/crone dynamics, stuff you can’t believe they were allowed to put on screen in the 90’s, psychotic womanhood, and of course stepmothers who make you go “Good For Her.” Put on this double feature for the whole family if you’re celebrating this week and would rather not be invited back. Or if your family’s cool. Either way, sounds like a good time to us.

Ashley George is a director and producer inspired by unique stories and new perspectives. Recent films directed by Ashley include female revenge horror short "Diabla", which is on the fest circuit now taking home awards such as the Golden Skull for Best Short Film at Morbido Film Festival and FilmQuest's Best Foreign Short, and queer 90s drama "Sometimes Forever". She's currently developing a slate of features set to film in 2022 including her directorial debut WAVE MOTHER and Ryan O'Leary's SEARCHING FOR A FORMER CLARITY (as producer). Her films have screened at festivals such as Fantasia, Milwaukee, Nightstream, Cine Huesca and Norwich.

A proud part of the Morbidly Beautiful Podcast Network. Our drive for intersectionality aligns well with the Morbidly Beautiful ethos. We love that MB is a nonprofit that gives back to the horror community, and are thrilled to be a part of the network! Show now also streaming on morbidlybeautiful.com!

Movies Discussed: Sleepy Hollow (1999), Snow White, a Tale of Terror(1997)

Links: IG- instagram.com/nyfgpod Twitter- twitter.com/nyfgpod FB- facebook.com/nyfgpodcast/ Pod merch- https://society6.com/nyfgpod

I am Not Your Final Girl by Claire C. Holland- https://www.amazon.com/Am-Not-Your-Final-Girl/dp/0692966633

Bandcamp- arieldyer.bandcamp.com

Show art by Brian Demarest: instagram.com/evilflynn