Scream Queen Podcast

This is my 69th episode and my theme of the month is Incel Horror.

I have a feeling that when we look back on horror in the future, the defining subgenre of the 2020s is going to be incel horror. Every decade seems to have its signature fears, and ours feels increasingly focused on loneliness, misogyny, entitlement, coercive control, and online radicalization. Instead of asking us to fear monsters lurking in the shadows, these films ask us to fear something much more familiar: people who believe they're owed love, sex, attention, or control over another human being.

guest Information:

James-Michael founder of HORROR PRESS

• https://horrorpress.com/#google_vignette
• https://www.instagram.com/horrorpressllc?igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Resources:

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26584495/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/01/celebrity-surgeon-nbc-news-producer-scam?srsltid=AfmBOoqvDMf-vbNHdu5FPcO6Ye315hnc3hFsF2E9zrV-JJfBSS7yu4lC

"Eat the Rich" horror is a subgenre of horror that critiques capitalism and class inequality by portraying the ultra-wealthy as the enemy. Rather than treating the 1% as merely out-of-touch, these stories present elite privilege as a predatory force built on the exploitation, degradation, and literal destruction of the working class. And you know what, I agree with them.

Sources:

• https://www.motionpictures.org/2026/03/writer-director-kirill-sokolov-on-zazie-beetz-cult-mayhem-and-the-nine-circles-of-hell-in-they-will-kill-you/
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31728330/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/one-of-the-most-chaotic-survival-movies-of-2026-so-far-is-now-streaming-and-its-like-kill-bill-meets-ready-or-not
• https://kathy-simon-s-school.teachable.com/l/products?sortKey=name&sortDirection=asc&page=1

This is my 67th episode and my theme of the month is EAT THE RICH.

"Eat the Rich" horror is a subgenre of horror that critiques capitalism and class inequality by portraying the ultra-wealthy as the enemy. Rather than treating the 1% as merely out-of-touch, these stories present elite privilege as a predatory force built on the exploitation, degradation, and literal destruction of the working class. And you know what, I agree with them.

For my real world example, A Swiss hacktivist found a hidden directory and participant profiles in the site's code, exposing over 200 prominent names What We Know About Billionaire Peter Thiel's Secret 'Dialog' Society.

Resources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8244784/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/18/what-we-know-about-billionaire-peter-thiels-secret-dialog-society-including-whos-involved/

https://www.wired.com/story/leak-exposes-members-of-peter-thiels-secretive-dialog-society/

https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/craig-zobel-interview-the-hunt-canceled-1202215006/

https://medium.com/incluvie/blumhouses-the-hunt-is-an-extremely-dangerous-alt-right-wonderland-8f1b6205dd15

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200310-the-hunt-review-donald-trump-got-this-sly-satire-all-wrong

This is my 66th episode and my theme of the month is the horrors of AI. For decades, horror has warned us about our relationship with technology. Long before AI became a buzzword, filmmakers imagined worlds where machines learned too much, corporations moved too fast, and humanity surrendered control in exchange for convenience.

Guest:

Jeff Rauseo

Movie Creator | Collector | Author

https://www.instagram.com/jeffrauseo

Resources:

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• https://www.crescendo.ai/blog/ai-bias-examples-mitigation-guide

In this episode, I interview director George Henry Horton on his directorial debut film Dorothy Project. Our conversation mainly focuses on AI and why it's such an effective topic in the horror genre.

After a botched robbery, two men take refuge in a remote and lifeless scientific facility, inadvertently awakening a monster within.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8651780/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

My theme is Motherhood in May. Uncovering the horrors of pregnancy. The virgin birth is one of the most well-known Christian doctrines. The idea that Mary had never had sex when she became pregnant has captivated the minds of artists and storytellers for the last two millennia. In the wake of the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, new horror films are finding fertile ground in the way religious institutions, and the men who typically run them, seek to control women’s bodies.

Guest:

K.J. Brantley

• She is a horror author that covers topics of Motherhood/Maternal, Gothic, & Eco-Folk Horror. She is also the Founder of SoCo Women in Horror Festival.
• https://www.instagram.com/authorkjbrantley

Resources:

• https://sojo.net/articles/opinion-culture/immaculate-shows-dark-side-virgin-birth-story
• https://bbc.com/news/articles/c9d5x83gg45o
• https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/secretive-us-church-accused-of-forcing-women-to-give-up-kids-for-adoption-report-7608915
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23137390/?ref_=fn_t_1
• https://www.artchive.com/artwork/the-madonna-of-the-blue-diadem-or-the-madonna-of-the-veil-raphael-1510-1511/

The film follows a homeless woman who is eight months pregnant and fleeing an abusive relationship. Seeking a fresh start, she finds refuge in a halfway house, only to uncover that the people running it are harboring sinister motives, and young women begin vanishing around her.

Meat, is a dark psychological thriller written and directed by LaRae Wilson that was released and streams on Tubi.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37803659/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

My theme is Motherhood in May. Uncovering the horrors of pregnancy. Believe it or not, pregnancy isn’t this miraculous beautiful experience much of the media portrays to be. Pregnancy is a story of body horrors more akin to the Alien franchise chest burster then the fairy tale version we like to tell ourselves.

Today I am talking with director/writer Danny Perez about his film Antibirth.

In a desolate community full of drug-addled Marines and rumors of kidnapping, a wild-eyed stoner named Lou wakes up after a wild night of partying with symptoms of a strange illness and recurring visions as she struggles to get a grip on reality while stories of conspiracy spread.

Resources:

• https://hellhorror.com/movies/antibirth-review-48075.html
• https://www.slugmag.com/arts/film/film-reviews/antibirth/
• https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3377678/sundance-review-antibirth-gross-hell/
• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/antibirth-sundance-review-856872/
• https://youtu.be/lJB8lo2rvGM?si=EGNBfNyCyvxINyvR
• https://short-history.com/russian-humanzee-human-ape-experiments-fa7f54598f49
• https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-claims-humans-successfully-conceived-a-humanzee-but-history-suggests-otherwise-45835
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3333870/?ref_=fn_t_1

Stalker Jane Interview

Written/Director Roger Glenn Hill

Jane, a stalker, becomes involved with her band-crush Demetri, a budding rock star, for whom she does terrible things to ensure his rise to stardom. While Jane schemes to support the band with bloody and chaotic effect the reality of his situation slowly dawns on Demetri, but is it too late?

This is my 63rd episode and my theme for April is Beauty is a Beast, Exploring beauty standards through the lens of horror.

I have special guest Plastic Martyr to talk about this campy classic and revolutionary film. She quotes the movie like the professional actress she is. We dive into the themes of friendship, beauty standards, conspiracy theories, and codependent relationships. You don't want to miss Plastic Martyr talking about her favorite film.

Guest:

Plastic Martyr

https://linktr.ee/plasticmartyr?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Johnson
• https://time.com/collections/future-of-living/7341335/bryan-johnson-longevity/
• https://www.wired.com/story/big-interview-bryan-johnson/#:~:text=Millions%20of%20dollars%20in%20treatments%2C,script%20has%20everything%E2%80%94except%20an%20ending.
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104070/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

On today's episode of Indie Horror Highlights, I interviewed Danishka Esterhazy the director of Match (2025).

• Written by Al Kaplan and Jon Kaplan.
• Starring Humberly González, Shaeane Jimenez, Dianne Simpson, and Jacques Adriaanse.

logline:

After Paola is matched with a handsome online suitor, she arrives for a first date to discover a house full of dark and terrifying secrets.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37436190/

This is my 62nd episode and my theme for April is Beauty is a Beast, Exploring beauty standards through the lens of horror.

The Substance was primarily inspired by writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s personal struggles with body image, the societal pressure on women to remain young, and the feeling of being "erased" after turning 50. She aimed to express the "violence of control" women face, channeling her own feelings of inadequacy and fears of aging into a surreal, exaggerated horror format.

Sources:

https://people.com/kris-jenners-viral-facelift-everything-to-know-11844291

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17526714/

For Indie Horror Highlights I interview writer/director/actor Ricky Glore.

Bobby Sweet is a country music legend and has been the world-renowned face of "Sweet Meats" since establishing his first restaurant with his wife in 1978. How did this restaurant take off so quickly and what makes the meat so darn sweet? Sometimes a "secret ingredient" should stay that way. They always say, "you'd be disgusted if you knew what you were really eating!" They might be right.

Tagline: Meat. Murder. Music. Delicious!

Available to stream on Troma Now

https://www.troma.com

https://www.instagram.com/glorericky

This is my 61th episode and my theme of the month is Manic March, where we analyze the manic female archetype in horror.

The protagonist May, is characterized as "manic" primarily through her sudden, drastic shifts in energy and her increasingly erratic, obsessive behavior as her mental state deteriorates. While she begins the film as painfully shy and socially anxious, her "manic" qualities emerge as a response to repeated rejection.

Guest Info:

Oriana Nichelle - Where she covers all things horror and she is a third of the Never Split Up Podcast.

https://linktr.ee/oriananichelle?utm_source=linktree_profile_share

Sources:

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303361/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• https://horror.fandom.com/wiki/May_(2002)
• https://youtu.be/zO5pyeXJMck?si=j5309Y558w__kaYY
• https://www.ripleys.com/stories/living-doll

In this episode, I interview Writer/Director Roger Conners for his new Indie Slasher Meat.

After a night of drugs and debauchery results in the fatal overdose of an underage gay man, an innocent bystander is left to take the blame. Upon his release from prison, the guilty party becomes the focus of an eccentric killers revenge.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16113974/

https://www.instagram.com/thescreamqueer

https://www.instagram.com/meatthemovie

This is my 60th episode and my theme of the month is Good for Her February. Where the trauma and torment women, children, and men go through doesn’t have to end at her suffering. It might be a fantasy to get revenge in the way the movies show it but it’s a cathartic escape from the reality we live in when justice is rare. Meir Zarchi said he was inspired to make the film after helping a young woman who had been brutally raped.

My guest Kellie from Final Girls Podcast and I recount the events in the film and analyze it through a feminist lens.

Guest:

• Kellie from Final Girls Podcast
• https://www.final-girls.com/

Resources:

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077713/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
• Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover

In this episode, I interview Aimee Kuge, the writer and director of Cannibal Mukbang. This female revenge film explores themes of trauma, toxic masculinity, and normalization of violence against women. In the end, it asks "How far would you go in the name of love?"

Available for streaming on Prime and Tubi

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27480944/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

In this episode, I interview director Kyle Valle and Writer/Actress Erin Aine about their film Zombie Con Vol 1. A group of cosplaying friends trigger a zombie apocalypse and are forced to traverse a zombie-infested Los Angeles to save their loved one.

Streaming on Screamify and Tubi.

Guest Info:

https://www.instagram.com/zombieconmovie

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33481705/

This is my 59th episode and my theme of the month is Good for Her February. Where the trauma and torment women, children, and men go through doesn’t have to end at her suffering. It might be a fantasy to get revenge in the way the movies show it but it’s a cathartic escape from the reality we live in when justice is rare and even when it is prosecuted the consequences rarely fit the crime.

Help is available:

• National Sexual Assault Hotline: Available 24 hours 1-800-656-4673
• https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/
• https://www.nsvrc.org/find-help/

Guest:

Sarah Spurlock - host of Final Girls podcast that dives deep into the world of horror by examining one iconic Final Girl per episode.

https://www.final-girls.com

Resources:

• https://repository.flsouthern.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/2f111023-7af0-44c8-ace2-9c3681c82173/content
• Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover
• https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3586210/eyes-history-rape-revenge-films-importance-female-directors/
• https://www.news9.com/crime/new-hearing-set-for-stillwater-teen-convicted-of-raping-high-school-students
• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068833/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

In this episode, I interview director Mary Beth McAndrews about her directorial debut with Bystanders. This "Good for Her" rape revenge film is part of a new wave of horror movies that take out the brutal exploitation of women and flip the brutality on the boys.

A group of murderous frat boys get more than they bargained for when they cross paths with a couple coming home from a wedding. This film is available for streaming on Tubi, Prime Video, Pluto TV, Plex, and Fawesome.

Links

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28546957/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk