Horrorspiria

In this episode, May sits down with Ariel Baska, founder of the film festival Access:Horror and accomplished horror filmmaker. Ariel and May explores the topic of medical gaslighting in horror through Ariel's own film, Our First Priority, as well as The Entity and A Cure for Wellness. There is also more information on Access:Horror in the episode, which takes place on July 8 & 9 virtually. Buy your tickets at accesshorror.com!

In this episode, May sits down with Dr. Valeria Villegas Lindvall, Senior Lecturer in the Aesthetics Unit at the University of Gothenburg. Valeria's dissertation, Wicked Women and Witches: Subversive Readings of the Female Monster in Mexican and Argentinian Horror Film, explores gendered monstrosity in Mexican and Argentinian visual culture: La Llorona and the bruja (witch), respectively. In this episode, Dr. Villegas Lindvall expands on the topics discussed in her book and contextualizes gender and decolonial politics further through specific examples from Latin American horror.

In this episode, May talks with film critic and author, Josephine Maria, about dance and horror films. They discuss ballet as a site of body horror through both versions of Suspiria (1977 & 2018) and The Red Shoes (1941) as well as more possibilities for horror and dance to fuse. 

In this Spotlight episode, May sits down with Final Girls Film Festival Berlin founders, Sara and Eli, to learn more about the groundbreaking festival. Final Girls Film Festival showcases horror cinema that’s directed, written, or produced by women and non-binary filmmakers. The festival and its team is committed to creating space for female (trans-inclusive) voices and visions, whether monstrous, heroic or some messy combination of the two, in the horror genre. Sara and Eli reveal the beginnings of the festival, share advice from their journey, shout out some of their top highlights, and preview their upcoming event, Brain Binge, being held online on June 11 & 12.

In this episode, May sits down with Amber, creator of the HornBloodFire podcast and a horror critic from the UK. Amber and May discuss one of their favorite foreign horror movements -- the J-Horror wave. In this episode, some films discussed are Onibaba, Hausu, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Ringu, Ju-On: The Grudge, Battle Royale, and more.

In this episode, May and Clinton watch critically-acclaimed horrors around the world that they missed in 2021 — “critical leftovers.” May and Clinton discuss Gaia, The Boy Behind the Door, Malignant, Coming Home in the Dark, and Lamb.

In the first crossover episode for Horrorspiria, May interviews Jonny & Aileen, creators and hosts of  ¡UY QUE HORROR!, a Latinx horror movie podcast.  In this episode, Jonny & Aileen discuss the inspiration behind the podcast, their backgrounds spanning Brazil, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Honduras, and as a group, Jonny, Aileen, & May discuss the joys, traumas, and triumphs of studying Latin American horror and what can be revealed when people seek out and form cultures around this subgenre.

In this episode, May sits down with Amy Harris, PhD researcher and teacher from De Montfort University in Leicester, UK. Amy specializes in women-made British horror, a topic she has written about in the new anthology, Bloody Women: Women Directors of Horror, and what she studies as part of her dissertation. In this episode, Amy discusses the shifts and shapes of women-made British horror, including films like Black Lake, Prevenge, Saint Maud, Censor, and more.

In this episode, May talks with actor and aspiring filmmaker, Jazz Echevarría, about werewolves and werewolf films. Inspired by Craig Ian Mann's 2020 book, Phases of the Moon: A Cultural History of the Werewolf Film, May and Jazz try to grow an appreciation for the werewolf and their depiction in cinema since the 1940s. They discuss The Wolf Man, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Werewolf in Washington, An American Werewolf in London, Bad Moon, When Animals Dream, and Bloodthirsty. 

In this episode, May sits down with Tuğçe Kutlu, PhD candidate, writer, and researcher from Ankara University. Tuğçe specializes in studying grief in horror, particularly Anglophone films, which is what she wrote her dissertation about. In this episode, Tuğçe explains her dissertation in depth, which looks at Midsommar, Hereditary, The Woman in Black, Pet Sematary, and The Babadook through the Kübler-Ross grief framework.

In an episode from the 2021 vault, May and Clinton discuss horror-comedies as they relate to spoofs, parodies, and satires. To explain the concept, May and Clinton review Phantom of the Paradise, One Cut of the Dead, and What We Do in the Shadows (series).

In an episode from the 2020 vault, May and Clinton go through 3 Netflix series from India, South Korea, and Colombia. We discuss the themes and metaphors present in each of these historical-horror-themed series. We look at The Green Frontier, Kingdom, and Betaal.

In this episode, May sits down with Horrorspiria's first international guest, PhD candidate from University of Liverpool: Rhys Jones. Rhys specializes in studying the abject in horror, which has led him to many intersections of queer theory, psychoanalysis, and horror. In this episode, May and Rhys look at The Lighthouse, Raw, The Dragula Brothers, and Martyrs, to discuss queer sensibilities in horror and queerness within the genre at large. 

Black horror is Black history. In this episode, May gives a brief rundown of that history before sitting down with Black genre filmmaker and professor, Nikyatu Jusu. They talk about Nikyatu's upcoming work on her feature film, her Sundance-nominated vampire short, Suicide By Sunlight, but most of all, Nikyatu provides a unique perspective of actively working to make Black genre films in the 21st century. Together, May and Nikyatu explore the themes found in this rich history and how each of them is influenced by the work of pioneer filmmakers and theorists. Suicide By Sunlight can be watched on YouTube.

On this episode of Horrorspiria, Lisa comes back on the pod for an in-depth look at the film business. Also an academic at George Mason, Lisa is an independent film producer with a background ranging from anti-piracy law for major studios to microbudget productions, which is the majority of her work now. We discuss the nooks and crannies of all those complicated terms we creatives aren't super fond of while looking at various models of business within the film industry. This is a great complementary listen for anyone taking Film Business or The Film Producer, but also very valuable to any independent producers/filmmakers out here as we discuss the details of distribution, signing deals, and the tiers of production companies we meet along the way. 

In our first episode of 2021, May sits down with Horrorspiria favorite and one of Maryland's pride and joys: Eric Allen Hatch. Known for his past as programmer at the Maryland Film Festival, his essays in various publications, and his cinema memes which have caught the retweets of the powerful and obscure, Eric goes into detail about how his "baby", Beyond Video, came to fruition and how it's been operating in the pandemic. It is our first episode done "on location" at Beyond Video and does have a few interruptions from sirens and an angry train, just as a live COVID-safe setting should be. Eric and May also dig deep into horror home video, filmmaking experiences, what is important to cinema and genre film overall, and give May a geography lesson to the DMV area. 

May and Clinton return to their (and America's) roots by looking at America's first wave of horror films: the Pre-Code era. This is where the monster movies started, this is where horror as a genre in American film history started; all while William Hays was feverishly trying to shut down avenues of filmmaking centered around these salacious topics. We look at four films from the era: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Freaks, The Old Dark House, and The Invisible Man.

Getting back in the analytical grind of things, May and Clinton discuss three international genre films with the theme of hunter vs hunted. The very essence of this theme is the foundation of slasher films, but what sets these three films apart is how the prey subverts the expectation of the predator. We look at three films made across the globe - Canada, France, and Brazi. In this episode, May and Clinton discuss What Keeps You Alive, Girls with Balls, and Bacurau.

Happy International Women's Month! In our first quarantined episode, May and Clinton discuss four lesser-known female-directed horrors from the last 50 years. What does the female gaze look like in a typically misogynist genre? Does it exist? We look at four different films made in four very different decades in order to examine the nuance of the mythic lady-directed presence in genre cinema. In this episode, May and Clinton discuss Janie, Blood Diner, Mirror Mirror, and Good Manners.

In their first director retrospective, May and Clinton look at Bong Joon-ho's entire filmography. Arguably the best genre filmmaker currently working, they discuss each of his films from Barking Dogs Never Bite to the Oscar-winning Parasite and how the director has influenced genre cinema globally since his 2000 debut.

In the first analytical episode of season 2, May and Clinton look at American films that are set in foreign lands or have foreign protagonists. The transnationalist influence of global cinema is the guiding force behind the expansion of horror and science fiction as a legitimate genre worldwide. American films are considered the country's most valuable export, and in analyzing these tendencies, what can a viewer uncover about both the American voice and the picture painted of other countries through American lenses? The Green Inferno, The Eyes of My Mother, and Midsommar are discussed. 

In the second episode of season 2, May and Clinton discuss their top 10 favorite American horror films. Look out for our American perspective of foreign culture episode up very soon!

In the season 2 premiere of Horrorspiria, May and Clinton discuss their top 10 favorite foreign horror films. From Asia to Latin America to Canada, we cover our personal favorite films to begin our new season.

In the season finale of Horrorspiria, May and Clinton discuss the monstrous feminine through 3 different films. The monstrous feminine is a theory first proposed by Barbara Creed which analyzed the role of abject women and monsters through lore and film. What do these gendered monsters convey through the works they're included in? In this episode, May and Clinton discuss these aspects as well as The Brood, Under the Skin, and Raw.

May and Clinton discuss theme of nationalism through 3 different horror films, exploring how the metaphors are relayed through script, setting, dialogue, and, plot. Starting with Red State in America, they look at the lens of nationalism through South Korea and Iran as well. How do different filmmakers explore xenophobia with horror tropes and what messages can we take away from these films? It is important to listen and analyze the differences between a nationalistic message and a critique of the nation-state itself. In this episode, May and Clinton discuss these aspects as well as Red State, The Wailing, and Under the Shadow.

In our fourth bonus pod, May discusses her favorite film, Donnie Darko. The 2001 film is directed by Richard Kelley. It is an original story written when he was 23. She discusses why it is her favorite film as a special memorial episode to pod-cat, Darko.