Quiet Little Horrors

It's Halloween and we wanted to have some fun, so we're talking about the new cult classic, 2007's Trick 'r Treat . Sure, we discuss the history of horror anthologies and manifestations of modern folklore—but also playful gore and why Sam is adorable even if he kills people. Happy Halloween!

We thought it was time we dove into those liminal spaces all the kids are talking about with 2026's Exit 8 . Topics include: video game adaptations, the horror of the everyday, and why are we so scared of normal places with no one in them or tiny little things wrong with them (seriously, let us know, we haven't quite figured it out yet).

Today we have guests Angel Luna and Nash Flynn from the Death and Friends podcast with two of their picks to discuss: Obsession and The Witch . There's plenty to say about the somewhat divisive Obsession , including what we wish it did a little more of, and then we revisit the topic of our very first podcast episode, The Witch , with fresh input and historical context.

We're thrilled to return to the work of one of our favorite working horror directors, Natalie Erika James, who directed one of our favorites in recent years, Relic . Her newest film, Saccharine , is another surreal story deeply rooted in the lived experience of women, blurring the lines between what haunts us and what shapes us. We discuss it all, plus the importance of supporting women telling th...

We revisit one of the new horror classics of the 2010s, David Robert Mitchell's It Follows . Tangents include, but are not limited to: good cinematography, twisted coming-of-age stories, suburban horror, and. of course, where is our damn clamshell e-reader already?

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.

We haven't covered many 90s horror movies because they tended to be not subtle or ... good. But Stir of Echoes is something of an overlooked psychological horror gem, in a 90s, blue-collar, Kevin Bacon sort of way. Join us for a discussion about themes of social commentary ahead of their time, indie queen Illeana Douglas and how we definitely can't afford a house in that neighborhood of Chicago an...

We tackle our first documentary with The Last Sacrifice , a sprawling look at the 1945 murder that inspired the story behind The Wicker Man and, by extension, the folk horror film genre and modern paganism. Like the doc, our discussion moves from the inciting incident and into why we think stories like these endure. Also, a moment of silence for never getting the opportunity to be 1970s witches.

We found the ideal "quiet little horror as giallo"—1976's The House with Laughing Windows . We discuss weird Italian towns, brightly-lit attics, and this film's overlap with folk horror. Also: what's in that bag?

In which we continue our Powell and Pressburger coverage and identity three primary life lessons: men should wear more shorts, don't repress your emotions and thus lose your mind, and no colonialism. Let's talk about Black Narcissus .

Ambition, Technicolor, fairy tales, how to be an artist in an unforgiving society, and terrible, terrible men. Let's talk about Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes .

This episode is the all about the hallucinatory Technicolor, Japanese ghost story anthology film Kwaidan . We discuss the film's theatrical style, the enduring power of folklore and why you probably shouldn't marry strange women you meet in snowy woods.

Tio Guillermo finally got his passion project Frankenstein on the screen and we have thoughts. We talk about the adaptation's cinematic legacy, the story's historical origins and all the details of Oscar Isaac's obsessive, villainous character study.

We close another year and our sixth full season with a list of our favorite episodes and films from 2025, as well as what we're looking forward to in 2026. Thanks for listening and happy new year!

The end of the year seems like a good time for a surrealistic descent into paranoia and madness, so let's watch 1976's The Tenant . We're joined this time by friend of the podcast Michael Fogus to discuss the novel from which the film was adapted, themes of social conformity and identity, and why Isabelle Adjani is just the best. 

Things we like: difficult women, slices of the early 2000s, and weird little films turned cult classics. Therefore, we like director Lucky McKee's 2002 film debut May . In this episode, we discuss the unique tone, story and antiheroine of this horrifically offbeat character study.

It's Robert Altman season at QLH. We discussed his film Images a few seasons ago and it's about time we circle back to the other two films in his "woman-focused" trilogy: That Cold Day in the Park and 3 Women . We cover: dream states, women's madness, power dynamics, doubles, different dimensions and how our favorite Altman films are possibly the least Altman-esque of the bunch.

Happy Halloween! We celebrate with the latest from director Oz Perkins, The Monkey —which swerves a bit from his usual tone, and our usual subject matter, but we found a lens that snaps both into focus. We discuss Stephen King adaptations, the absurdity of death, and how both horror and comedy prepare us to face life.

Yet another entry in the "teenage girls are terrifying" files with Peter Jackson's fictionalized tale of New Zealand's most infamous real murderesses in Heavenly Creatures . We discuss the intensity of girls' imaginations and friendships, the dangers of emotional repression and why we don't discuss what a great movie this is more often.

As Americans, we don't really get the whole British boarding school deal, but apparently at one point they were full of facades and jealousy, teenage girls bonding and bullying, and Eva Green being fabulous but also maybe unhinged. Cracks didn't make much impact on its release in 2007, but we make the case for its reappreciation.

We thought we'd take an episode to look at the work of the recently departed David Lynch and each of us brought one of our favorites to talk about:  Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and Mulholland Drive . Just a bunch of women trying to figure out what's real and what's not and how to live with it anyway, so if that's your idea of a good time, come on in.