A podcast about films of quiet horror
Things we like: difficult women, slices of the early 2000s, and weird little films turned cult classics. Therefore, we like director Lucky McKee’s 2002 film debut May. In this episode, we discuss the unique tone, story and antiheroine of this horrifically offbeat character study.
It’s Robert Altman season at QLH. We discussed his film Images a few seasons ago and it’s about time we circle back to the other two films in his “woman-focused” trilogy: That Cold Day in the Park and 3 Women. We cover: dream states, women’s madness, power dynamics, doubles, different dimensions and how our favorite Altman films are possibly the least Altman-esque of the bunch.
Happy Halloween! We celebrate with the latest from director Oz Perkins, The Monkey—which swerves a bit from his usual tone, and our usual subject matter, but we found a lens that snaps both into focus. We discuss Stephen King adaptations, the absurdity of death, and how both horror and comedy prepare us to face life.
Yet another entry in the “teenage girls are terrifying” files with Peter Jackson’s fictionalized tale of New Zealand’s most infamous real murderesses in Heavenly Creatures. We discuss the intensity of girls’ imaginations and friendships, the dangers of emotional repression and why we don’t discuss what a great movie this is more often.
As Americans, we don’t really get the whole British boarding school deal, but apparently at one point they were full of facades and jealousy, teenage girls bonding and bullying, and Eva Green being fabulous but also maybe unhinged. Cracks didn’t make much impact on its release in 2007, but we make the case for its reappreciation.
We thought we’d take an episode to look at the work of the recently departed David Lynch and each of us brought one of our favorites to talk about: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Mulholland Drive. Just a bunch of women trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not and how to live with it anyway, so if that’s your idea of a good time, come on in.
We love it when a film hits squarely in our personal center of interest and Aislinn Clarke nailed it. We discuss Fréwaka and its themes of historical and generational trauma, women at the mercy of fate, and some good old-fashioned evil fae.
We’re perpetually here for a bad time and there are few worse times than Antichrist. Join us for a discussion about Lars von Trier, excavations of cultural misogyny and pretty much all the content warnings.
Bergman March continues with what is often regarded as Ingmar Bergman’s only “real” horror film. We might dispute it’s his only one, but not that this one goes to some horrific places. We discuss the figure of the tortured, self-absorbed artist, women’s sustaining labor and if it’s possible for artists to make the right bargains with the world.
What wouldn’t brighten the tail end of winter but some profound psychological chaos, despair and dread? So we’re taking on a couple of Ingmar Bergman films, beginning with 1972’s Cries and Whispers. We discuss the brilliant color cinematography of Sven Nykvist, the complex bonds between women and seeking freedom in the liminal spaces between life and death. You know, nice, lighthearted spring fare.