FINAL GIRL explores the slasher flicks of the '70s and '80s...and all the other horror movies I feel like talking about, too. This is life on the EDGE, so beware yon spoilers!

Jun 17, 2020

"Ohio"

I tells ya, I don't know how many unfinished posts I have sitting in my drafts, but it surely numbers somewhere around a metric fuckton. Since we last spoke (with our eyes), I have started posts about movies I love, movies I do not love, and movies I have no particularly strong feelings for one way or the other. Every single one of those drafts immediately devolved into what I will generously call pandemic feelings, because how could they not? It is something that everyone in the world is dealing with--even those dum-dums who won't wear a fucking mask--so of course it must be acknowledged. And in case you haven't noticed, in addition to a GD pandemic, the world is on fire in other (vitally important) ways. Hundreds of people are marching every day, even if algorithms and the media have decided not to show us the protests anymore.

See how it happens? Now I have a paragraph of acknowledging the acknowledgments.

I mention all of this not only because it (sort of) explains that I haven't completely forgotten about this place, but because if you're a regular Gaylords of Darkness listener, then you may have noticed we've been absent a couple of weeks. This was a conscious decision, as a podcast talking about horror movies would just be taking up space and diverting from more worthwhile causes. We've been using our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to boost other voices. There's often a dissonance when we talk about politics and the world at large on our show--like, there are literally children in cages at our border, while we sit here chatting about Nail Gun Massacre--and that dissonance has never been as pronounced as it's been lately.

Of course, there are a handful of horror movies that are extremely relevant to the current political climate, and one of those horror movies is Suspiria. You may have heard me mention it around here once or twice or 31 times.


Today, Gaylords of Darkness returns with our fourth episode about this masterpiece...and this time, Anthony and I are joined by Suspiria screenwriter David Kajganich and director Luca Guadagnino.

YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT. YES I AM DEAD.

You can listen to it here, or find Gaylords of Darkness wherever you kids conjure your podcasts--Apple, Spotify, whatever.

To say this opportunity and conversation mean absolutely everything is obviously the hugest of understatements. We chat for about an hour about revolution, representation, Final Girls, lesbian sex covens, and so much more. We talk about the film in ways I've never heard or seen it discussed! There are revelations! Revelations, people!

I don't know where we could possibly go with Gaylords after this (or heck, with Final Girl), but we're going to try. As we mention at the end of this show, we've got a small plan that makes us feel okay about continuing to record and publish episodes as the world rages. Consider following us on one of those social media platforms, because that's where we'll be announcing and updating in the next few days. I'll try to post about it here, too, but you'd probably have to read a paragraph of pandemic feelings to get to the good stuff, and who wants that?

8 comments:

cat said...

hi there! during my excess free time lately i've gotten into movies i always meant to watch... including Suspiria. i'm honestly completely obsessed! i don't have to tell you why, i know you get it lol.

so anyway i was googling what a "ruth bre collective" might be and i found your post, and then i found your entire Suspiria tag and the shocktober 2019 run of posts. i devoured them all over a two night period. i loved reading them so much, it was exactly as much depth and insight i was looking for and as much as i think this film deserves! your writing is so clean and witty and it was just a joy to find.

i guess my ultimate point is just THANK YOU! Well done! Death to any other horror blog!

Stacie Ponder said...

Oh man, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love this. I love that folks are still discovering this amazing movie. I def suggest listening to the podcast episode I lined in the post...I could listen to Dave and Luca talk about horror all day, and it reinforced for me that Suspiria still has layers and secrets left to reveal.

cat said...

BRUH i can't believe i forgot to mention that! maybe because i didn't have time to listen to it during the week so i kinda blocked it from my mind to stop obsessing lol. but now it's SUNDAY and i'm alone and free to spend the day obsessing over whatever i want! i'm actually going to listen to the first Suspiria podcast you did (ep 7 i think?) and THEN the one with Dave & Luca as dessert~

and then maybe ep 8, about Argento's Three Mothers movies.

aaaand then maybe also all of the episodes. although that might take more than just today! ^^'

Stacie Ponder said...

Oh heck yeah if you're going to listen to all of our Suspiria episodes then definitely save Dave and Luca for last! Ep 7 is mostly just us recovering (or trying to recover) from having our heads exploded. Then on Episode 22 we're joined by Colin Drucker and get into more details. Then episode 52, our birthday episode, we talk about it even MORE. My goodness we love Suspiria haha

Thanks for listening and reading!

Justin Wear said...

Hello! I'm Justin from Ohio! Just wanted to thank you for making this blog and being part of the podcast! You make my work schedule, much more fun and happier! Just watched Prom Night 2, last night! And, I thought of you! #WeLoveMaryLou! She really was so pretty! Lol! Wishing you the best and much safety, during this crazy time! 😁

AK said...

Gay dude here, been reading Final Girl for like half of EVER (even tho I don't comment much) but just wanted to tell you that your enthusiasm for Suspiria made me overcome my resistance to it (all the "people puked during screenings" stories made me disinclined to watch it). I finally put it on and turned it off after maybe 20 minutes. Not because it grossed me out, but because it was terribly sad to me.

BUT! I finally watched it when I was in the right frame of mind, and I thought it was amazing (but yeah, still terribly sad).

Question: Have you seen We Are Still here? That's the most fucking frightening movie I've seen in a long time (I had to turn it off at one point because it got dark out and I didn't want to see any more, so I finished it the next day). I think it's AMAZING! (but at times super violent)

Stacie Ponder said...

Hi Rob!

Interesting reaction to Suspiria! Most people don't come away with sadness as their big takeaway, but it totally makes sense. I'm glad you gave it another shot :)

I have see We Are Still Here! I liked a lot of it (the cast is terrific, for one thing)...but I admit, a friend of mine was one of the ghost family people and seeing her pulled me out of any potential scariness haha. It's good stuff though, I should check it out again one of these days. Thanks for the reminder (and reading!!)

CashBailey said...

I did not see this masterpiece show up on anybody's 'Best of the Decade' lists. And that makes me sad.