Quiet Little Horrors

Irish director Damian McCarthy's first two films, Caveat and Oddity, have popped up in side discussions and recommendations before around here, but we've never devoted a full episode to one of his films and it seems like it's about time. Hokum is his most sophisticated film yet, and Jessi and Jen each had slightly different experiences with it—but there's a lot here to like and discuss.

Sometimes even we want a break from the unrelenting horrors. We decided to mix it up just a bit and have some fun with the slapstick supernatural noir/horror comedy that is 1992's Death Becomes Her. Don't worry, it's still got plenty of darkness to dissect. But it also has a bunch of amazing women we love to watch and also a herd of manservants, so that's nice.

The "woman trapped in 70s psychological horror" well never runs dry for us. We go back for a low-key classic of the genre, 1971's Let's Scare Jessica to Death. We cover: folk horror, vampires, lesbians, and the weirdest instrument case ever made.

When you're up for a bad time, Kiyoshi Kurosawa always comes through. We discuss the "tortured detective pursues a serial killer and finds an existential crisis" tale that is Kurosawa's 1997 masterpiece Cure.

Strap in, there's a lot to cover in director Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! We like its moxie, but are mixed on its results. Highlights include: the modern depiction of Frankie, Jessie Buckley's ferocity, and the unequivocal support for messy and mad women.