Katy and Erika kick off Hot Alien Summer with--what else?--Ridley Scott's Alien. They dive deep into Joseph Conrad's Nostromo , technology as Mother, and why this is actually a pride episode. "A Curious Case of Influence: Nostromo and Alien(s)," Ted Billy: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24634674?seq=1 "How 'Alien' (1979) Queered the Binaries of Traditional Gender," Michaela Barton: https://flipscreened.com/2020/08/18/how-alien-queered-the-binaries-of-traditional-gender/ "Reassessing Alien: Sexuali...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 54 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Erika and Katy are taking you to the movies to see the B-Horror classic: Camp Bloobath--I mean, The Final Girls. They dive deep into the hero's journey, the hallmarks of a final girl, and how it's kind of a weird choice to do a strip tease for your daughter. Happy (belated) mother's day! "Her body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film," Carol J. Clover: https://www.jstor.org/stable/i347286 “The (Extremely) Short Guide to Writing Horror,” Tim Waggoner: https://www.williamcookwriter.com/2014/03/the...
May 13, 2025•2 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Erika and Katy return to Wes Craven's world for "A Nightmare on Elm Street." They dive deep into the Satanic Panic, troubled sleep in Shakespeare plays, and Erika's big theory that motherhood is all a scam. "American Monsters: Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic, 1970-2000," Sarah Hughes: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26803447 "Cultural Human Sacrifice in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Films," Brittany Caroline Speller: https://www.supernaturalstudies.com/previous-journal-issues/vol-4-iss...
Apr 08, 2025•2 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Erika and Katy are celebrating their two year anniversary by discussing their first sequel, Scream 2. They dive deep into the rules of sequels, the fate of Cassandra, and everbody's homorepressed mommy issues. "'Scream 2': College is a Horror Sequel," Eric Han. https://cornellsun.com/2023/02/09/scream-2-college-is-a-horror-sequel/
Mar 11, 2025•2 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Erika and Katy return to the Carpenter Cinematic Universe with 1988's "They Live." They (meaning Erika and Katy, not the titular aliens) dive deep into subliminal messaging, women's anatomy in comic books, and how Minnesota always holds it down. "John Carpenter Is Fighting With Internet Nazis Over His Cult Classic They Live," Sydney Fussell: https://gizmodo.com/john-carpenter-is-fighting-with-internet-nazis-over-his-1790754727 "John Carpenter Denies Neo-Nazi Reading of They Live As Jewish Suprem...
Feb 11, 2025•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 28
Gruß vom Erika und Katy! This krampus nacht, the girlies dive deep into Krampus origin stories, the emotional release of horror/comedy, and St. Nick's cadre of bad boys. Note: We will be taking January off. See you in February! "How Does Horror Comedy Work?" V Renée: https://nofilmschool.com/2017/07/how-does-horror-comedy-work “Is Krampus Really Pagan?” Spencer McDaniel: https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/12/13/is-krampus-really-pagan/ “’Krampus’s True Meaning Runs Way Deeper Than Holiday Ho...
Dec 24, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Sweet birthday babies, Erika and Katy, are giving you the gift of "Happy Death Day." They dive deep into overhanded metaphors for grief, a timeline of timeloops, and Katy's one-sided war with The Lumineers.
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Katy and Erika are celebrating spooky season with Night of the Living Dead. They dive deep into the late 1960s, ghouls vs. zombies, and what it's like when one kid is carrying the entire group project. “Night of the Living Dead: Mere Anarchy Is Loosed,” Stuart Klawans. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5390-night-of-the-living-dead-mere-anarchy-is-loosed “The Arabic Ghoul and its Western Transformation,” Ahmed K. Al-Rawi. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40646532 “When the Zombie Looks: The Hu...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Katy and Erika close out creature feature summer with Cloverfeild. They dive deep into non-linear storytelling, the perks of found footage, and the roughly 48,000 questions they have about the monster.
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Can't have a Hot Creature Summer without Doug Jones, so this month Katy and Erika turn their attention to Guillermo del Toro's El Laberinto del Fauno. They dive deep into daddy issues, Falangism, and why it's never a bad idea to be wary of fauns.
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 52 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Join Katy and Erika in celebrating July with the original summer blockbuster: Jaws! They dive deep into the minor 2nd interval, sacrifices made at the altar of capitalism, and the no-homo way to share about your trauma. "The Shark in Jaws Did Nothing Wrong--An Ecological Video Essay," TREY the Explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqykkfT8NlM "Jaws, Beneath the Teeth," Peter Biskind: https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC09folder/Jaws.html "Three Men on a Boat," Jen Corrigan, from ...
Jul 09, 2024•2 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Erika and Katy kick off summer with a discussion of Bodies Bodies Bodies. They dive deep into tragic flaws, kidz these days, and just what exactly a libra moon says about you (spoilers: a lot!).
Jun 11, 2024•2 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 21
This month, join Katy and Erika as they delve into The Descent. They dive deep into unreality, literary foils, and whether or not women like beer.
May 14, 2024•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 20
This month, Katy and Erika discuss John Carpenter's cult classic The Thing. They dive deep into Cold War paranoia, the evolution of story, and what happens when you bring too much Jock Energy to a survival scenario. “What ‘The Thing’ Loses By Adding Women,” Noah Berlatsky: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/10/what-the-thing-loses-by-adding-women/246648/ “Fecund Horror,” Noah Berlatsky: https://gayutopia.blogspot.com/2007/12/noah-berlatsky-fecund-horror_12.html “After 35 Year...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 19
It's a real St. Patty's Day miracle: Katy and Erika are discussing Irish folk-horror the Hallow. They dive deep into Irish identity, why the dog dies, and how to spot a changeling baby using this one weird trick. The Brehon Academy: https://brehonacademy.org/ "Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts," D. L. Ashliman: https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Katy and Erika are back with an episode about "Jeepers Creepers." They dive deep into sibling relationships and the curse of clairvoyance, all while trying desperately to bring a sense of coherence to the Creepers lore and abilities. Content warning for brief discussion of child sexual assault in the first ten minutes of the episode. "The Convicted Hollywood Pedophile Who Won't Go Away," Kate Aurthur: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kateaurthur/victor-salva-jeepers-creepers-pedophile "Don't...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 17
It's Christmas time, so Katy and Erika are here to discuss the Canadian proto-slasher Black Christmas. They dive deep into second wave feminism, the dark roots of Christmas, and how maybe the real psycho killer was every single man we met along the way. "HIstorical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today": https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/abortion-central-history-reproductive-health-care-america/historical-abortion-law-timeline-1850-today "A History of Women in High Education...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 16
A real gift to the world this month as leading Purge experts, Katy and Erika, take a deep dive into the first movie of the franchise. They get absolutely frantic about Purge law, Christian nationalism, and whether or not they'd want to get chatted up by a highly educated white man. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purge
Nov 07, 2023•2 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 15
For spooky month, Erika and Katy talk about Ju-On: The Grudge. They dive deep into the domestic sphere, the purpose of ghosts, and the Edo version of a grindhouse double feature.
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Katy and Erika close out their summer series with "I Know What You Did Last Summer." They dive deep into psycho killers, the YA thriller genre, and why you don't cast Johnny Galecki to play the school bully.
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 55 min•Season 1Ep. 13
It's hot Drac summer this episode as Katy and Erika discuss Universal Picture's Dracula. They dive deep into the evolution of vampire lore and Bela Lugosi's influence, all while Katy (at the time of this recording) gets way too hype for a movie that will leave Katy (at the time of this posting) ultimately disappointed. "Universal Pictures: A Panoramic History in Words, Pictures, and Filmographies," Michael G. Fitzgerald: https://archive.org/details/hollywoodsgolden00senn "Queer Coded: Dracula," ...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 44 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Katy and Erika keep the summer vibes going by discussing Ari Aster's Midsommar. They dive deep into white supremacist cults, the origin of the word "bear", and how joining a cult seems great until winter comes. "The Source of Horror: An Anthropological Perspective on 'Midsommar' and 'The Witch'," Eleri Denham: https://www.drunkmonkeys.us/2017-posts/08/17/film/the-source-of-horror-an-anthropological-perspective-on-midsommar-and-the-witch-eleri-denham "People Still Don't Realize 'Midsommar' Is Abo...
Aug 08, 2023•13 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 11
This week, Katy and Erika keep the summer vibes going with their discussion of Sleepaway Camp. They dive deep into twist endings, crossdressing killers, and how camp games could drive anyone to commit murder. "The Transgender Defense of Angela Baker and Sleepaway Camp," Harmony Colangelo: https://harmonycolangelo.medium.com/the-transgender-defense-of-angela-baker-and-sleepaway-camp-82dd54ddf9cd “Why Trans Women Can’t Have a Promising Young Woman Yet: A Lesson from Sleepaway Camp," Aspen Nelson: ...
Jul 25, 2023•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Join Katy and Erika for the second half of their grindhouse double feature with a discussion of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. They dive deep into American car culture, acts of voyeurism, and the struggles of buying weed. "Death Proof: Recontextualizing the Slasher Genre," Douglas Rasmussen: https://www.horrorhomeroom.com/death-proof-recontextualizing-the-slasher-genre/ "A History Of Women In Quentin Tarantino Movies," Alison Willmore: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/alisonwillmore/quenti...
Jul 11, 2023•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 9
Join Erika and Katy for a discussion of Planet Terror, the first half of a grindhouse double feature. They dive deep into exploitation films, the malleability of borders, and reaching up to one's lesbian future.
Jun 27, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Join Katy and Erika for a discussion of the RKO classic "Cat People." They dive deep into Siberian history, the symbolism of panthers, and why this film is basically the X-Men of the Hays Code era. "Cat People (1942): Coding Lesbianism via Otherness," Elizabeth Erwin: https://www.horrorhomeroom.com/cat-people-1942-coding-lesbianism-via-otherness/ "Monsters & Mommis: Cat People and the Seventh Victim Come Out of the Closet," Drew Burnett Gregory: https://www.autostraddle.com/monsters-mommis-c...
May 30, 2023•2 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Join Erika and Katy as they discuss Ready or Not. They dive deep into Samara Weaving's guttural screams, the inherent evil of being rich, and why Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture doesn't mean what the butler thinks it means."Ready or Not justifies its twist ending by exposing a major red flag," Emily Heller: https://www.polygon.com/2019/8/24/20828364/ready-or-not-ending-explained
May 16, 2023•1 hr 56 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Join Katy and Erika as they discuss Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. They dive deep into gender in horror films, zombies vs. demons, and why they are so many cabins in all these woods. CW: This episode includes a brief discussion of sexual assault. If you would rather not hear that part, you can skip from 00:21:00 to 00:36:33. "How To Read Evil Dead and Why," Seth Mlawski: https://www.overthinkingit.com/2009/10/28/evil-dead/ "Reality Is Mundane: Special Effects and Unrealism," Alec Jensen: http://www....
May 02, 2023•1 hr 48 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Join Erika and Katy as they discuss Eli Roth's Cabin Fever. They dive deep into dog symbolism, plague narratives, and if Eli Roth has ever met a human woman."The Formula of Plague Narratives," Jørgen Riber Christensen: https://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/the-formula-of-plague-narratives
Apr 18, 2023•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Join Erika and Katy as they discuss 1996's Scream. They dive deep into queer subtext, the history of the slasher, and why Katy can't stop grooving to "Red Right Hand.""A Historical Approach to the Slasher Film," Sotiris Petridis: https://lgbtqinsidehorror.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/thisseemsgood.pdf
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 59 min•Season 1Ep. 3
