Sinnful Sarah's Horror Menagerie

The Mistress of the Menagerie starts the month of August (the 70s) off with a bang with Wes Craven's debut feature film, 1972's, "The Last House on the Left." Topics include emotional abuse and addiction, anger and grief fueled revenge, and can a merciless killer show compassion? 

Horror History: Finishing up the month of the 60s for July, the Mistress of the Menagerie covers Alfred Hitchcock's classic and iconic Psycho (1960). Come check it out as the Mistress discusses the Oedipus and Jocasta complex, the typical 60s female sexism in horror movies, and Dissociative Identity Disorder. 

This week, still focusing on the the 1960’s, the Mistress of the Menagerie discusses the amazing Edgar Allen Poe adaptation by the legendary Roger Corman, “The Masque of Red Death (1964).” Topics include Socioeconomic Status, Religious debate (Satan or God), and 2 of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse: Pestilence and Death.

Come join the Mistress of the Menagerie as she continues her deep dive into the horror movies of the 1960's with "Peeping Tom (1960)," where she talks about Voyeurism and Scoptophilia, a psychopath finding companionship with another, and the use of Fear as a trigger and a weapon.

July is here and this month the Mistress of the Menagerie will be focusing on horror movies of the 60s, starting with the low budget, cult classic 1962's "Carnival of Souls." Topics include Toxic Masculinity, afterlife/death allegories, and mental illness metaphors and symbolism. 

The Mistress of the Menagerie closes out the 50s month, with 1956's "The Bad Seed."  Topics include the psychological horror sub-genre, nature vs. nurture debate: what influences our behaviors, and conduct disorder with psychopathic tendencies. 

The Mistress of the Menagerie continues the 1950s in Horror History by discussing and analyzing the classic sci-fi/horror 1956's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Topics include disease and mental illness allegories, what makes us human/what is humanity, and sleep vulnerability. 

This week, as we continue the theme of Horror History focusing on the 1950s, the mistress of the menagerie discusses the 1953 Sci-Fi/Horror, "Invaders from Mars." Topics include Erikson's Trust vs. Mistrust, metaphors for addiction and child abuse, and the racial/sexist undertones within the movie.

Continuing the theme of Horror History, we are focusing this month on the 1950s, starting with the movie that started the "Big Bug" movie craze, the classic "Them!" The Mistress of the Menagerie discusses the Creature Feature sub-genre, nuclear threat metaphors and symbolism, and what the ants themselves represent.

Continuing the concept of Horror and History with a bonus 1940s episode with a lesser known Boris Karloff movie, 1940 "The Ape." The Mistress of the Menagerie discusses Mad Scientist tropes, a decent into madness, and killing in the name of science.

The 1940's run ends with 1941's seminal classic "The Wolf Man," with the incredible Lon Chaney Jr! Sarah and Nathaniel discuss WW2 allegories, toxic masculinity, and the issues between fathers and sons!

Our run through 1940's Horror selections continues with "The Mummy's Hand," a loose, not-really-a-sequel to "The Mummy." Topics include Freudian Gender Roles, Sanctity of the Dead, Colonialism, and Forced Plot Devices!

This week, The Menagerie begins covering horror films from the 1940's with Cat People. We cover topics such as victimhood, delusions and denial, and the complicated characters at the heart of this story. 

Horror in History: The 30's Month draws to a close with Tod Browning's 1933 classic "Freaks!" The Mistress and the Minion discuss themes of inclusion, morality, and the near legendary controversy surrounding the film in an episode that is almost as long as the film itself! Enjoy!

History of Horror continues to move forward with 1933's "King Kong," a first time watch for both Sarah AND Nathaniel! Topics of discussion include racist and sexist allegories, colonialism and the enduring legacy of the titular character! Twas Beauty killed the Beast!

Our work with the history of horror in the 1930's moves forward with the seminal horror-comedy "The Old Dark House," directed by the legendary James Whale. Topics of discussion involve taboos and psychological issues, post-WW1 allegories, and the seriousness of poor mental health treatments.

The Mistress of the Menagerie and her loyal Minion begin their long term "Horror History" run with the 1930s and "Dracula," the Tod Browning led film starring Bela Lugosi. Topics include Lugosi himself, comparisons between Bram Stoker's original novel, and the correlation between Vampires and sexual assault in fiction. 

This week, The Mistress and the minion have a very special guest in the form of filmmaker Michelle Nessk! Together, they all talk about the strange "The Mothman Prophecies" to close out Cryptid Month. Topics include psychic premonitions, skepticism, 9/11 allegories, and more!

Month of the Cryptids continues as the Mistress unpacks the Jersey Devil film "The Barrens." Alongside her little minion Nathaniel, she discusses Stephen Moyer, paranoia, rabies and the legend of the Jersey Devil!

The Mistress of the Menagerie continues "Night of the Cryptids" with 2006's "Abominable!" Allegedly about the Abominable Snowman, your hosts contend it's more about Bigfoot, discuss the similarities to Hitchcock's "Rear Window," and Sarah Sinn tells some stories passed down from her Grandmother about Sasquatch!

The Mistress turns her eye to March with Attack of the Cryptids! To start things off, The Mistress and her Minion of Evil discuss the underrated Dark Was The Night! Topics include the psychology of grief and aversion, the excellent and surprising performance of Kevin Durand, and the Wendgio.

The Month of Love featuring Werewolves comes to a close with The Mistress and her Minion discussing The Howling with Matt from the celebrated Killer Horror Critic Podcast! Topics include sexual repression, mental health, gender politics, sequels and a possible connection between The Howling and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

Continuing the Month of Love Werewolf theme, the Mistress and her Minion discuss the action-horror hybrid Dog Soldiers (which happens to be one of Sarah Sinn's favorite Werewolf flicks). Topics include Alpha Male tropes, Pack Mentality, and exceptional Werewolf design!

The Month of Love continues with another Werewolf installment of the Menagerie! This week, The Mistress of the Menagerie discusses Neil Jordan's 1984 film "Company of Wolves!" Together with her Minion, the show unpacks the figurative language of the film, Angela Lansbury, and gender roles in society! 

February is the month of love...so why not Werewolves? To start the Werewolf month, The Mistress of the Menagerie and her loyal minion take on the British Werewolf movie "Howl!" Topics include the treatment of the elderly, character archetypes and classism!