Plug It Up: A Horror Movie Podcast

Nina, Eileen, Colleen, and Zach join Caitlin to cover 2023's Cocaine Bear. Before you side eye... she's a mama bear. A MONSTROUS mama bear! So we're counting it for monstrous motherhood. A seamless shoehorn into the Plug It Up repertoire of the monstrous feminine! We look back at our favorite scenes, recount our fun theater experience, "tag" ourselves as characters, and touch on other animal-horro...

Mary joins Caitlin to cover Bones and All on episode 100 of Plug It Up! We look at themes regarding coming of age, motherhood, destiny, identity, sexuality, and morality, and we long for a pretty cannibal boyfriend of our own. Tangents for this episode include: Timothee Chalamet's jaw, M&Ms, pizza, ice cream, and sharks. We also got some great FMKs and questions with a "100" theme. Thank you all s...

Mathula bravely joins Caitlin to cover the controversial 2009 arthouse horror movie Antichrist. We look at themes of internalized misogyny, religion, nature, and grief, and we get into why this movie falls into the "monstrous feminine" category. Tangents include: Willem DaFoe's dong (duh), mail carriers, Kool-Aid, vacations, tattoos, and breakfast sandwiches. Be sure to check out Mathula's art ove...

Bob, Randy, and Soju from the Straight Chilling Podcast join Caitlin to review The Stepford Wives (2004). We dig into gender roles, patriarchy, book vs movie comparisons, and behind-the-scenes trivia. We take an unfortunate look at the "trad wife" and Quiverfull movements, but somehow have a blast talking about even the grimmest topics. Tangents include Tom Cruise, horror movie memorabilia, unpopu...

Mary and I had the pleasure of chatting with filmmakers Eric England and Caitlyn Greene, two of the most wonderful people we've met. We talked about Contracted, which Eric wrote and directed, as well as how both he and Caitlyn got into horror. We also talked about some of their upcoming projects, all of which sound fantastic (and right up our alley). We chatted like old friends about gender and se...

Zach and Charlie join Caitlin for some bridal horror! We cover Rec 3, the most Spanish movie ever. We talk about Rec 3's humor, gore, and Catholic zombies, and we look at the ways it subverts wedding traditions. Tangents include: Cocaine Bear, Twilight, organ donation, marriage, favorite numbers, vacations, Sarah's wedding, and scariest horrror moments. 

Mary and Christian join Caitlin to count down the best and worst horror remakes. We rank the 15 best and 15 worst, then we do a lightning round of yea-or-nay to remakes that we didn't rank (with a special shoutout to The Fly, which should've made the best-of list). We also discuss confirmed upcoming remakes, and we chat about which horror movies we can see being remade. One running theme: we've go...

Maddie and Mackenzie join Caitlin to cover 2014's Lyle, often touted as a lesbian re-telling of Rosemary's Baby. We look at some classic monstrous motherhood themes, including gaslighting partners, losing a child, and Satanic syndicates poaching your offspring. We also discuss the most iconic (for better or worse) fake website in horror history. We really love Lyle, though, and we have a great tim...

Colleen and Christian join Caitlin to cover 2022's Don't Worry Darling. We go full roast mode on this one, so be prepared. We look at the film's themes of sex and technology, and we talk about how it really missed the mark when it comes to actual empowerment. We also get into the way the movie was marketed, and finally, we air our all our lingering questions and complaints. We still love Florence...

Mary and Nick join Caitlin to cover 2013's Contracted. It's a body-horror, zombie-movie fav! We get into themes of sex and sexuality, and we (unfortunately) do a deep dive into necrophilia. We also cover Contracted: Phase II. Both are currently available on Tubi, and both contain our favorite horror doctor. Tangents for this episode include: ranch (and general condiment wars), Tilikum the whale, l...

Mary joins Caitlin at the Player Haters' Ball to count down the most hated characters in horror. We actually cover a few lists: horror characters we happen to hate (complete with runners-up), horror characters we love to hate (slash who we're supposed to hate), horror characters that we think are unfairly hated, and hateable characters from horror TV. We make our cases, debate a bit, and generally...

Maddie and Mary join Caitlin to discuss a new addition to the Plug It Up repertoire of the monstrous feminine: bridal horror. Although weddings are beautiful and fun, they can also be catastrophic, or even deadly. 2019's Ready or Not is a favorite in general, and it perfectly captures wedding chaos and bridal horror. Plus, Samara Weaving's scream is everything. We look at themes of family, wealth,...

It's a Zach and Charlie episode, so you know the accents are a'flowin. This time it's Aussie accents, mate, since we're covering 2022's Sissy. Sissy is great; it's a mix of The Stylist and Tucker and Dale vs Evil. It's got great gore, and it explores themes of friendship, bullying, and social media. Plus, what's more horrifying than a bachelorette party? We go off the rails pretty quickly. Tangent...

Joe Ferry joins Caitlin to discuss 2022's Hellbender, a folk horror favorite that explores witchcraft, shifting power dynamics, and control. It's got beats of both monstrous menstruation and monstrous motherhood, and in general it's a very Plug It Up movie. We do say the word "flesh hole" a few times, so beware. Tangents include: salamanders, ice shapes, track suits, cereal, and miscellaneous witc...

Victor, Maddie, Zach, and Colleen join Caitlin to talk about M3GAN, the first big theater release of 2023 horror. We had a great time in the theater together, and we enjoyed talking about movie. We loved the humor and the scares, and we liked the Black-Mirror-esque questions the movie raised about AI. We also get into how and why Megan is a gay icon. Tangents include: Friday the 13th, Kraft macaro...

Jon Schnaars of Bloody Good Horror fame joins Caitlin to cover Resurrection, a 2022 horror movie starring Rebecca Hall. We look at themes of motherhood, trauma, and surrealism, and we get into the creepy Tim Roth of it all. (We say that with respect - what a chilling and fantastic performance.) Tangents include soda, board games, and top sheets. This was recorded in December, hence all the holiday...

Matt and Mer join Caitlin to cover another A24 Favorite: The Lighthouse. We look at themes of isolation, madness, sexuality, homoeroticism, and masculinity. We say the word phallus a whole bunch of times. We also say "mermaid vagina" a lot. And don't forget the bodily fluids! It's a great time. Tangents include Last Podcast on the Left, curly hair (I have a type), fun-size candy, and hoarding. Tha...

Mary joins Caitlin to cover Luca Guadagnino's reimagining of the Italian horror classic Suspiria. Like the original, the remake is hypnotic and surreal, and it features dancing and witchcraft. The 2018 version digs into motherhood themes, and it explores the dark feminine. AND, it stars Tilda Swinton, Tilda Swinton, and Tilda Swinton. Despite our qualms about the triple-casting, we really do love...

Pickens joins Caitlin to cover Dario Argento's Suspiria. We talk about Italian horror overall, Suspiria's bright colors (and its bright blood), the iconic score by Goblin, and lots of trivia. Tangents for this episode include: Return to Oz, chickens, Diablo Cody, Rugrats, and Sheetz. Be sure to check out Pickens' instagram to see photos from his very cool meet-and-greet with Felissa Rose! 

Zach, Maddie, Colleen, Mary, and Charlie join Caitlin to look back at the year in horror. We share our top 5 (and bottom 3) movies of the year, and we look at the rankings from other Plug It Up guests. Thanks so much to all the guests who submitted lists! We also talk about horror TV from this year, and we look back at our favorite Plug It Up episodes and moments. We talk about the horror movies w...

Mary and Victor join Caitlin to talk about 2003's Dead End - a Christmas horror movie that features a monstrous femme figure and some monstrous motherhood. Overall opinions varied, but we all appreciated the very 2003 vibe. Since this is a Christmas movie, we discussed all things Christmas: Christmas movies, Christmas traditions, Christmas presents, Christmas meals, and good ol' white elephant gif...

Victor joins Caitlin to talk about 2019's Saint Maud, a psychological slow-burn from director Rose Glass. It's got one of the most memorable final seconds of a movie ever. We talk themes of religion, penance, ecstasy, and delusion, and we look at some symbolism, too. We also talk about self-immolation, because how can you not? Tangents include board games, our creative writing projects, a rousing...

Mary and Nick join Caitlin to talk about Stephen King's Misery. Annie Wilkes is an icon of the monstrous feminine, and Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for portraying her. We get into themes of isolation, obsession, and addiction, and we talk at length about hobbling. Mary and Nick cracked me up this episode. We talk about our favorite Stephen King adaptations, our food court orders, how we like...

Colleen joins Caitlin for what might be the most Plug It Up movie that ever plugged it up: 2022's You Won't Be Alone. It's a slow burn folk horror movie that has a Plug It Up trifecta: a monstrous femme figure, monstrous menstruation (well, some coming-of-age, at least), and monstrous motherhood. It explores gender in really interesting ways, and it's a real accomplishment of a movie in terms of s...

The gentlemangs from Straight Chilling Podcast join Caitlin to cover 1987's Blood Rage - a Thanksgiving horror movie for the ages. It's got some monstrous motherhood beats, and it gives us a great evil twin story. It also takes place in Jacksonville, FL, home of Straight Chilling! Tangents include chain restaurants, celebrity nemeses, and getting "the ick." Be sure to check out Straight Chilling w...