Episode 87. Mother Monster: Pyewacket (2017) and Hereditary (2018)

 
CW: Suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones: 1-800-273-8255. 
 
We’re kicking off a new semester by tackling two incredibly dark films that ask the question: have you checked on your mom lately? Alex and Andrea investigate the deepest depths of grief, despair and what we stand to lose (and gain) when we forsake our family for community.
 
 
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REQUIRED READING

Pyewacket. Dir. Adam MacDonald, 2017.
Hereditary. Dir. Ari Aster, 2018.

EXTRA CREDIT

Fack exclusive: Pyewacket filmmaker audio Commentary! Adam MacDonald’s enlightening commentary for his film.
 
Canadians Talking Shit. Adam MacDonald’s podcast – we recommend!
 
“This be the verse.” Larkin’s poem from Alex’s inaugural poetry corner.
 
The Book of Spells by Nicole de Pulford. Alex’s foray into teen witchcraft. Disclaimer! We assume no responsibility for those sealed pages!
 
“Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches.” For all us elder millennials who called the corners in the park.
 
Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in Contemporary American Cinema. Timothy Shary’s examination of teens on screen.
 
Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. Maybe the most oft-quoted book of this podcast? Sady Doyle’s book on the construct of woman as monster.
 
“Silencing the Dead: The Decline of Spiritualism.” A piece from The Atlantic on the history of spiritualism and its fall from fashion.
 
“Trans Horror Stories and Society’s Fear of the Transmasculine Body.” A trans reading of Hereditary.
 
“The Truth About the Five Stages of Grief.” Everything we learned in psych 101 was BS! See why Kubler-Ross’ popular grief model should be put down in this great video from Sci Show.

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BONUS CONTENT! Commentary: I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)

The summer bonus trilogy concludes! Join Alex as she mines the occasional depths, miscalculations and style choices of Sylvain White’s I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, examining whether the 1990s Teen Horror Cycle can exist in a new millennium.
 
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Episode 86: Summer of Plague Pt 3. Nature Is Healing: Mimic (1997) and The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

 
Our Summer of Plague wraps up with a look at potential cures and a post-human reality. Between Guillermo del Toro’s Frankensteinian bugs and a post-apocalyptic UK, the end of the world may be closer (and more necessary) than we think.
 
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REQUIRED READING

Mimic. Dir. Guillermo del Toro, 1997.
The Girl with All the Gifts. Dir. Colm McCarthy, 2016.

EXTRA CREDIT

Down and Dirty Pictures. Peter Biskind’s examination of the rise of Miramax and Dimension Films.
 
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. An in-depth look at the notebooks and films of del Toro.
 
At Home With Monsters. A look at del Toro’s touring exhibit!
 
“Mimic”. The short story, by David A. Wollheim
 
Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Julia Kristeva’s treatise on the purpose of abject horror.
 
Queer Revolution, Zombie Uprisings, and the problem with M. R. Carey’s The Boy on the Bridge: an article examining the prequel to The Girl with All the Gifts.
 
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement: “May we live long and die out”

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BONUS CONTENT! Commentary: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

Alex is back with Julie and Ray to continue their summer pastime of making terrible terrible decisions! This time with Brandy, Jack Black and some dubious geography trivia.
 
Get your rain slicker, your tanning bed and some popcorn and join the fun!

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