S5 Ep 6: Horror Parody - The Blackening

We are gathered here today with heavy hearts, but also a spirit of gratitude and remembrance, to celebrate the life of The Monstrous Feminine Podcast.At the ripe old age of five, she was stabbed 666 times by four witches. It was a short life, but a well-lived one. She will be lovingly remembered for her uncanny dissections of gender, horror and all things monstrously morbid, morose and macabre. A letter from the alleged perpetrators was found at the (very bloody) scene....Dear Coven,We are very sad to announce that after five years we have decided to bring The Monstrous Feminine Podcast to an end.Over the years, as our careers changed, we have found more and more that we do not have the capacity to give you the quality episodes you deserve. We’ve decided it’s time to move on and allow each of us to flourish in our own creative realms. We did not come to this decision easily. Making this podcast has been the most fulfilling experience for all of us.We are endlessly thankful for the support you have shown us since the beginning. Hearing from all of you with every comment or message was always the most rewarding part of this.For us, this was never just a podcast, it was a community of compassionate, inspiring and socially engaged horror lovers, and we feel truly honoured to have been a part of it.We are also eternally grateful to our creative collaborators for believing in our work, welcoming us into their spaces and giving us so many unforgettable opportunities.We are incredibly proud of what we brewed together, and we will always remember this podcast as one of our greatest adventures.All our love,Louisa, Mila, Tyia & Zeba...The Monstrous Feminine Podcast is gone but not forgotten. All episodes will remain on Spotify and Youtube. Previously unreleased bonus episodes and video essays will also be available on YouTube. All links can be found in our Instagram and TikTok bios.Illustration by Nebila Oguz – on Instagram @nebilaphoto.

Our last episode for horror parody is the 2022 film ‘The Blackening’, directed by Tim Story. ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 We discuss the realistic friendship dynamics of the central group, describe our amusement at the playful use of Black stereotypes and explain how this film rejects Blackness as a monolith. The Coven: Louisa, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, discussions of racism, racial violence and racist stereotypes

Welcome to Camp Bloodbath! 🌲🪓👧 Continuing with our horror parody theme, we're covering the 2015 comedy ‘The Final Girls’, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson. In this episode, we identify the recurring use of grief in horror, analyse the final girl trope and this film’s regrettable lack of engagement with Carol Clover’s original text, and debate to what extent the trope effectively challenges gender norms/binaries. Petition for someone to actually make Camp Bloodbath? The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Discussions of violence against women, the death of a parent, grief and a brief mention of rape

“No, please don’t kill me Mr. Ghostface – I wanna be in the sequel!” It’s time for horror parodies and so we’re taking on the 1996 classic ‘Scream’, directed by Wes Craven. 😱🔪🩸 We compare the poignancy of the original to its many sequels, explore the difficulties of effective satire in the age of media oversaturation, and describe the surprisingly accurate portrayal of misogyny and masculinity in the first movie. FYI: If the next ghostface is revealed to be a True Crime podcast host, just know this was OUR idea. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Discussions of rape, sexual coercion, femicide, violence against women and domestic abuse

For our last serial killer episode, we're covering the 2023 crime thriller ‘Red Rooms’, directed by Pascal Plante. 🟥💻 This episode is extra special because it includes snippets from an interview with the director himself. We discuss the fascinating shift in focus from murderers to their admirers, and attempt to unpick the psychology of female serial killer groupies and their parasocial relationships. We also express appreciation for this film’s impactful use of sound and responsibly restrained depiction of violence against girls. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, discussions of paedophilia and grooming, the dark web, violence against women and girls, sexual violence and exploitative internet sub cultures

Continuing our serial killer theme, we're covering the 2010 action thriller ‘I Saw the Devil’, directed by Kim Jee-woon. 👁👁👹 In this episode, we discuss the thriller’s relentless violence and its thematic purpose, debate whether the main character's driving motivation is narcissism or grief, and talk about Western exoticism of so-called "Asia Extreme" films. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, brief mention of child murder and decapitation, discussions of sexual assault

Ciao a tutti ⋆˙☽ we're back with szn 5! Our first theme is serial killers, starting off with the 1982 Italian horror mystery, 'Tenebrae', directed by Dario Argento. 🟡👠 We summarise the origins of "giallo" in Italian cinema, unravel the many layers of Argento's meta-commentary through the film's eroticised violence, voyeurism and plot twists, and identify some potential crises of sexuality and gender. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder and discussions of symbolic rape in a psychoanalytic context

Hi gay! 🏳️‍🌈 For this extra long Pride special, we're covering the gory gay thriller ‘Love Lies Bleeding’, directed by Rose Glass. 🏋️‍♀️💉💪🍳💘💥🔫🚬 We discuss love and addiction, giantess kinks and bodybuilding as a form of drag. We also praise this film’s refreshing disregard for queer respectability politics with its messy central couple. Get pumped! This episode is 𖦹extra𖦹 special because we are joined by our first ever guest, Reem @pacificreem :) Based in Paris, their work focuses on the long history of what might be called moral-panic entertainment, from exploitation films to video games. They are also one half of Gross Encounters - a workshop, festival and film screening club that engages with the politics of monstrosity and alienhood by honouring low-brow, low-budget and low-resolution horror and sci-fi productions, their fandoms and their scholars. Check it out here: @_gross_encounters_ or www.grossencounters.com. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Special Guest: Reem Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, addiction (specifically, steroid misuse), mentions of symbolic sexual violence and domestic abuse

Our final dreams in horror pick is the 2021 crime mystery ‘Malignant’, directed by James Wan. 👹 🧥 This film is nothing like what you’d expect. We delight at the action-movie sequences and marvel at the camp of it all. We also debate this movie’s bonkers biology and manage to identify every single monstrous-feminine trope in all the seemingly shallow tomfoolery. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, mentions of birth defects and rape

Continuing our dreams in horror theme with the 2021 horror mystery ‘Last Night in Soho’, directed by Edgar Wright. 👩🎤💄🧥🔪👵🔥 In this episode, we express how we had some trouble pinning down the message of the film. We (shockingly) didn’t quite take to the female revenge storyline. We also unpick the uneven characterisation and uneasy racial dynamics in this film. The Coven: Louisa, Mila, Tyia and Zeba Theme and ‘Witch of the Week’ Music by: Sebastian Pizzaro *CONTENT WARNING* Violence, death, murder, discussions of forced sex work and sexual exploitation, mental illness and suicide