Plug It Up: A Horror Movie Podcast

Mary and Charlie join Caitlin to cover Scream 2, a movie with an interesting production history and a star-studded cast. We talk about sequel tropes, monstrous motherhood, and the franchise entering the conversation around the effect of violent media. Tangents include: sharting, pranks, product placement, Bob Dole, spiced coke, Scream rankings, franchise kills, natural disasters, horror movie role...

Everybody's little brother Zach joins Caitlin to cover Slaxx, a movie about possessed pants. We talk about retail madness, the myth of "ethical" consumption, and how this movie nails horror comedy with a message. It's goofy and silly, but also affecting. We also talk about: camp counselor stories, retail work experiences, brushing teeth with twigs, being haters, jeans, pooping fruits, one hit wond...

Mathula joins Caitlin to cover 2003's Dogville, the first installment of Lars Von Trier's unfinished United States trilogy. It's an impressive undertaking with a unique production history and bleak plot. We talk about themes of hopelessness, arrogance, and man's tendency towards harm. It's a rough watch at times, but a really interesting movie overall. Shoutout to Mathula for mailing me the DVD an...

Bob, Randy, and Soju of Straight Chilling Podcast join Caitlin to discuss Spring, the Benson and Moorhead body-horror-romance from 2014. We look at themes of travel, love, time[lessness], monstrous motherhood, and science. Thanks for joining, boys! Tangents include: HBO, actors, one-hit-wonders, strange addictions, celebratory meals, favorite cities, fights, dogs, hotdogs, and airports. And we agr...

It's been a while since I've shared a solo episode, but I wanted to chat a little bit about my recent bilateral salpingectomy, in case any other folks out there had questions or wanted to learn more about the procedure. This is always something I've wanted for myself, and it means even more now post-Roe. Take charge of your bodily autonomy and reproductive health in the ways that work best for you...

Zach joins Caitlin to review a list of favorite horror comedies - some old, some new, and some that might just be funny to us. Let us know if you think we missed any! Just do so gently, for we are sensitive. Tangents include: Candy's house, sandwiches, cosplay, Victor meeting Bruce Campbell, white boy songs, CiCi's, spiders, and pets.

Brother episode with off-the-charts sibling energy. Zach and Charlie join Caitlin to cover Happy Death Day, a 2017 horror comedy that features a time loop. We talk about how the time loop trope is great for setting up second chances and character redemption, and we go over funny moments from the movie. Tangents include: ring tones, physical media, cake, cookies, Ukrop's, cereal, crunching/chewing/...

Elizabeth joins Caitlin to talk about 1996's Scream, a movie that invigorated not just the slasher subgenre, but horror on the whole. We discuss meta storytelling, satire, subversion, and final girls, and we give Scream all the love it deserves. Tangents include: bangs, ghostface mask ideas, socks, driving, sirens in songs, the rock-and-roller to children's-performer pipeline, lady tropes in horro...

Mary joins Caitlin to talk about horror movies that deserve a second chance. These movies aren't necessarily "underrated" (because that means different things to different people, especially depending upon familiarity with the genre), but they're movies that got written off too soon. They deserve a second look; at least we think they do. Let us know if there are any you'd add to the list.

Maddie and Colleen join Caitlin to cover Poor Things, the new surrealist, steampunk epic from Yorgos Lanthimos. We talk about the stellar performances from Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe, and we look at themes around sex, sexuality, identity, existentialism, gender, and bodily autonomy. There's also lots of silly joking around. The review starts around 21:45. Tangents include: running...

Mary joins Caitlin to cover Saltburn, the new controversial new black comedy from Emerald Fennell. As degenerate weirdos, we loved it, but not everyone did. We talk about the controversy, and we analyze themes (obsession, weatlh, manipulation, and more). Did you know there are two movies where Barry Keoghan slurps something, and this is not the one that traumatized Mary? Tangents include: Kylie Je...

Navigating a pivot in plans, Mary joins Caitlin to cover David Gordon Green's recent body of work. We mostly chat about Exorcist: Believer, but we also talk about DGG's Halloween trilogy. To put it kindly, we weren't huge fans of Exorcist: Believer - partly because it tries to cash in on nostalgia and politics in cringe ways, and partly because it's just a bad sequel. Not even Ann Dowd could save...

Eric from Bloody Good Horror joins Caitlin to cover May, a cult classic from 2002. Many of us - for better or worse - have related to May at some point. She's an often-overlooked icon of the monstrous feminine, and we wanted to give her her due. We talk about themes of isolation, identity, and being an outsider, and we look at symbols around dolls and fragmentation. Tangents include: BGH origins,...

Mary and Charlie join Caitlin to cover The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the impactful David Fincher thriller. It's got it all: high stakes, revenge, heists, mysteries, Happy Meals, and more. We look at themes of misogyny, violence against women, and intuition vs politeness. Tangents include: merkins, piercings, accents, Emma Stone, booktok, ramen, childhood aspirations, summer vs winter, takeout,...

Soju from Straight Chilling Podcast joins Caitlin to discuss Only Lovers Left Alive, an indulgent 2013 vampire movie from Jim Jarmusch. We talk about brooding, the arts and humanities, love and companionship, and O-negative popsicles. Vampirism 101, really. Tangents include: blood types, FMK for Anne Rice vamps, which emojis are the most sinister, beverage fountains, Say Yes to the Dress, Great Br...

Zach, Mary, Charlie, and Colleen join Caitlin to discuss the best and worst of horror in 2023. We cover our favorite and least favorite horror movies of the year, as well as our favorite horror shows. We also talk about trends in the genre, theater experiences, our favorite Plug It Up moments, and our hopes for 2024 horror. We come in SWINGING, both for movies and for one another. Tangents include...

Christian joins Caitlin to cover The Nun, the biggest box office success from the CCU (Conjuring Cinematic Universe). We talk about nuns (and nunneries), snakes, religion (and religious trauma), spitting, and the Marvelization of the later Conjuring movies. We give this underrated movie some love, and we talk about how the literal blood of Jesus Christ isn't that far off when it comes to relic/rel...

Colleen and Maddie join Caitlin to assign "big three" astrological placements to popular horror characters. Three queer, horror-obsesed women talking about astrology, boygenius, and doms/subs? Groundbreaking! But hey. It's FUN. We have a great time, and we make strong cases for our designations. Characters covered on this episode: Carrie White from Carrie, Nina from Black Swan, Amy Dunne from Gone...

Charlie and Matt join Caitlin to talk about Huesera, a recent Mexican-Peruvian horror movie that features a new take on the monstrous motherhood trope. We explore themes around identity and family, and we look at motifs regarding spiders, ritual, and religion. Definitely worth a watch. Forgive our many bone(r) jokes and our exaggerated pronunciation. Tangents include: the Virgin of Guadalupe, cool...

Mathula joins Caitlin to cover 2023's Cobweb. (Mathula's pups also join for a bit of background ambiance, but they fade out after the plot synopsis.) Cobweb is a creepy, Halloween-time movie with strong visuals, cool kills, and a memorable monstrous femme figure. And an easily identifiable Busey! Tangents include: crocs, Seth Rogen and his pottery, sequels, Tubi (sponsor the pod, please, we love y...

Charlie, Zach, and Mary join Caitlin to cover Slotherhouse, a 2023 movie that seeemed promising, but ultimately let us down. It's not quite a campy creature feature, and it's not quite a sorority horror story. What it does do: cringe attempts at representation, bizarre dialogue, and sloths on instagram. We had a lot of fun with the questions, though! Tangents include: Zach's bad taste, favorite cr...

Victor joins Caitlin to cover Birth/Rebirth, a 2023 monstrous-motherhood interpretation of Frankenstein. It's an impressive film about grief, scientific curiosity, and the different ways people experience motherhood. Even more impressive: this was director Laura Moss' debut film. Well done! Sitting very high in the 2023 horror rankings. Tangents include: trivia, Reddit, Thanksgiving foods and trad...

Maddie joins Caitlin to cover 2023's No One Will Save You, now streaming on Hulu. The townspeople certainly view our main character as a monstrous femme figure, but we are endeared to her. We talk about themes of isolation, regret, giref, and survival, and we applaud Kaitlyn Dever. As always, the latter half of the episode is nutty and full of laughter. Tangents include: sneaking things into movie...

Alyssa (of The Silver Scream Podcast) joins Caitlin to cover The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, a 2023 retelling of Frankenstein with poignant, modern social commentary. Nobody asked for two white women to reflect on a movie about Black culture and Black trauma, but we hope to use our voices to lift up this fantastic debut from director Bomani J Story. With allusions to the murders of Tamir Ric...

Charlie and Zach join Caitlin to cover 2023's Piglady. We dedicate this episode to our good friend Sarah, who loves pigs. (We love you, Sarah!) Piglady is a monstrous femme figure, and... that's about all we can really say. Tune in to hear Zach make a case for the movie, while Charlie and Caitlin go hard on the critique. Tangents include: murder pigs, guinea pigs, Peppa Pig, pork in general, bacon...