It was inevitable! Now is the time in Zombie Grrlz Podcast history where we attempt to take on the Scream franchise. Rachel, Sarah and Matilda attempt this this lofty goal, which we meet to varying degrees of success. Mostly we just laugh at the styles of the ’90s, confess our allegiance to Gale Weathers and lament the very existence of Scream 3.
In this episode we also discuss the Evil Dead remake, the TV miniseries Top of the Lake and the (kinda racist) season two and three of The Walking Dead.
Stay tuned for the outtakes to hear Rachel’s cat sexually assault the linens, Matilda relays the shocking danger of traveling with knitters, Sarah shares the tale of the “inappropriate licker” and Rachel draws a firm line the sexy-time sand.
Feast your ears on the Zombie Grrlz Podcast Episode 28!
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes! And while you’re there, why not leave a review? 
<–No seriously, it’s awesome, you should totally do it.
We LOVE feedback and questions, so send us an email to Rachel@zombiegrrlz.com
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Happy Women In Horror Month! To celebrate this joyous time of year we are taking a close look at the works of Jen and Sylvia Soska with reviews of Dead Hooker in a Trunk and American Mary.
In this episode we talk forcible castration, voluntary female circumcision, body modification, goat love and magically healing arms—and generally geek out on the Twisted Twins filmography. Seriously, these two are the filmmakers to watch!
Plus, we discuss the totally under-appreciated and unbelievably awesome Dredd 3D, the visually stunning BBC thriller Utopia, why Explodey Jo dug The Divide (hint she’s a sicko) and Draculas—both upper and lower case “D.”
Stay tuned to the outtakes to hear what we sound like before the coffee kicks in, eight-legged horror stories from around the globe and how Rachel almost broke the internet.
Come get your ears exploited here with Zombie Grrlz Podcast 27!
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes! And while you’re there, why not leave a review on iTunes? <–No seriously, it’s awesome, you should totally do it.
We LOVE feedback and questions, so send us an email to Rachel@zombiegrrlz.com
or
Leave us a voice mail, we encourage—nay we DEMAND—drunk dialing! 1 (678) 6-Z-GRRLZ!
Hey there good lookin’ it’s been a while since we last spoke… but hey here I am and I’ve got fun news. FirsT, The Zombie Grrlz hiatus is ova! That’s right, starting this weekend (2/24) new episodes of the Zombie Grrlz will be coming your way!
Secondly—And even more instantly gratifying… check out the latest episode of the always awesome world famous Splattercast, guest starring yours truly! The fellas and I discuss horror of a presidential nature with recaps of The Washingtonians, The Tripper and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Also we discuss the merits of facial hair, feline suffrage and one Splattercaster’s penchant for burrito enemas—yeah I’m not to sure what that means either Check it out in all its glory here! And if you like what you hear drop the dudes over at Dead Lantern a email and let em know!
xoxox
Rachel
PS HAPPY WOMEN IN HORROR RECOGNITION MONTH, Ladies!!
So, this is pretty exciting! The latest episode of the oh-so-fabulous Explodey Files is now up featuring most of the ZG crew! Ariel and I joined Sarah and Jo for a discussion of Home. The result: whatever the opposite of “classing up the place” is, we did that! Needless to say F-bombs, inbreeding chat and sexy British accents abound!
Check out the deets from Dead Lantern below:
“We are joined by Rachel and Ariel from ZombieGrrlz.com and Joanna from TheColonelMustard.com to discuss a highlight from season 4. We celebrate reaching the minor milestone of 75 episodes by discussing the wonderfully dark and gruesome ‘Home’, and plans for the female answer to The Motherfuckin’ Round Table of Man: “The Mammary Lounge”.
Stay tuned to hear a short (spoiler heavy) discussion on Game of Thrones, and a stinger that features the rest of us having some fun at Rachel’s expense. Download ‘Home’
We’re baaack! Since we had so much fun talking about all things Ripley in the previous episode we thought we’d have another go at one of our favorite horror (adjacent) leading ladies, Agent Clarice Starling!
We talk cannibalism (obvs), transgender representation in films, death by curling iron in the lady parts and childhood FBI aspirations.
Plus, we discuss the now cancelled The River (ooops, that’ll teach me to lag so long in editing the episode), discover Rachel’s super power (which she happily abuses) and discover the word that is (practically) the most fun you can have with your mouth.
Stay tuned to the outtakes to hear a spontaneous nicotine fit occur in real time, learn of Rachel’s secret plushy passion and Explodey Jo gives us the behind the scenes goods on her interview with William B. Davis aka The Cigarette Smoking Man!
Come get feministy with us on the Zombie Grrlz Podcast 26!
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes! And while you’re there, why not leave a review on iTunes? <–No seriously, it’s awesome, you should totally do it.
We LOVE feedback and questions, so send us an email to Rachel@zombiegrrlz.com
or
Leave us a voice mail, we encourage—nay we DEMAND—drunk dialing! 1 (678) 6-Z-GRRLZ!
The shortlist of directors for Catching Fire has been leaked and its a dude-oploy.
By: Rachel Shatto
So it’s official, Gary Ross has dropped out of the Hunger Games sequel. So now harried Lionsgate studio execs have begun scouring the globe for the next director to pick up the dystopian mantle for Catching Fire. Well according to an anonymous insider who has leaked it to The LA Times the boys’ club brain trust has formulated their shortlist of directors to replace Ross. In the running is Canadian director David Cronenberg and Mexican directors Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu plus four or five unnamed directors—all dudes.
After my initial “oooh David Cronenberg” Pavlovian response (A History of Violence is among my all time favorite films) it struck me that there was nary a lady on this list. Which isn’t unexpected. That’s not to say its shouldn’t be directed by a man, but still awfully discouraging considering that for the films is based on a best-selling trilogy written by a woman, told through the perspective of a young women and marketed to women (although fellas are of course welcome to enjoy them, too), not one woman filmmaker is even being considered for the directors chair. Unless of course it’s actually the penis that does the literal directing. If that’s the case I humbly withdraw my complaint.
For the sake of this post lets assume the camera doesn’t actually have to be nestled upon a scrotum for it to start capturing moving pictures. Here is my Uteruses before Duderuses (thank you Leslie Knope) list of lensing ladies who could and should have made the short list.
Kathryn Bigelow
Ok this one is pretty obvious choice, Kathryn Bigelow took home the Best Directing Oscar in 2009 for The Hurt Locker and has plenty of action films under her belt to boot (Blue Steel, Point Break, Strange Days). Plus the she helmed the cult favorite horror film Near Dark. Clearly, capturing action and pathos are not a problem for Bigelow. However, she won her token Academy Award so we can neatly tuck her away. Don’t you know that sexism in the film industry is solved people! Move along, nothing to see here (nothing with boobs behind the camera that is).
Lexi Alexander
Perhaps my personal front runner for the job is Lexi Alexander, this lady director (and skilled martial artist, seriously look it up, she’s bad ass) blew me away with her football hooligans centered drama Green Street Hooligans. But it was her big action debut Punisher: War Zone that earned her a spot on this list. Say what you will about this gloriously gory comic book adaptation, in all its parkour and rocket-launching glory, it was a damn fine looking film and jam packed with action. Plus, Alexander isn’t afraid to throw around the red stuff and the Hunger Games could do with a bit more splatter the second time around, I say!
Catherine Hardwicke
Twilight sucked, I think we can all agree to that, but stay with me for a moment. Its suckatude did not spring from any failing on director Catherine Hardwicke’s part; that’s all down to the source material which is and will forever be epically terrible. However, it’s also the best film in the franchise thanks to Hardwicke’s lemonade out of lemons approach. Of the films it’s the best looking, most atmospheric. And she even managed to eke out a inkling of emotion from her leads! Now imagine for a moment what someone capable of that Sisyphean feat could do with the likes of the magnificent Jennifer Lawrence. It would be breathtaking. Also, not for nothing that $191.4 million dollars box office return is nothing to sniff at.
Jennifer Lynch
Jennifer Lynch is a bit of a dark horse pick. Daughter of the famous director David Lynch and author of Laura Palmer’s Diary (which my mother banned me from reading and which I immediately purchased and kept secreted under my mattress for late night flashlight-facilitated reading) makes this list not for Boxing Helena (wow, just wow) or Hisss (which I haven’t seen) but for Surveillance. This gripping serial killer focused film is told out of sequence and features the best and most terrifying performance of French Stewart’s life. OK on second thought maybe Lynch isn’t the gal for Catching Fire. But Surveillance is seriously awesome and you should totally see it.
Antonia Bird
Have you seen Ravenous? You know, the man vs man vs nature, cannibalistic film set in a desolate snowy outpost? Nuff said, but I’ll continue anyway. Antonia Bird, the woman behind the camera of this film as well as the British crime drama Face in addition to Mad Love which features a mentally unstable Drew Barrymore and her romantic road trip with Chris O’Donnell. Take those three movies, shake ‘em up and what have you got, something looking a lot like Catching Fire. I’m just sayin’.
Jen and Sylvia Soska
Hell, if Peter Jackson can go from Bad Taste to Lord of the Rings or Cronenberg can go from Shivers to quite possibly Catching Fire why can’t the ladies behind the underground gory fave Dead Hooker in a Trunk have a crack at the Hunger Games sequel. I don’t know about you but I’d totally see that movie.
See Lionsgate execs, was it really that hard?… Hey I’m talking to you… Excuse me but I’m up here. Le sigh, yes they are natural.
photo credits: Courtesy of Lionsgate (Hunger Games still), M. Dodge (Hardwicke), Courtesy of 20th Centry Fox (Bird)
We’ve threatened this episode for three years and at long last it’s finally here: The Ripley Special. Rachel, Ariel, Matilda and Explodey Jo discuss our all time fave horror heroine Ellen Ripley as we take on the the Alien Quadrilogy. And clocking in at an epic three frickin’ hours, we clearly have have a whole lot to say about the scourge of xenomorph kind.
We talk space horror, Freud, bad French accents, the shame of Ron Pearlman, wandering uteri, intergalactic body fluids and why Sigourney Weaver is a feminist icon.
Plus, we forever strike Resurrection from Alien canon. Yep, it’s official, Alien 4 is out. Sorry, Joss.
Stay tuned to the outtakes to hear us taking in the horror that is xenomorph genitals, rape-y alien fan art and Rachel telling the worst joke in Alien history.
Come get feministy with us on the Zombie Grrlz Podcast Episode 25!
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes! And while you’re there, why not leave a review on iTunes? 
<–No seriously, it’s awesome, you should totally do it.
We LOVE feedback and questions, so send us an email to Rachel@zombiegrrlz.com
or
Leave us a voice mail, we encourage—nay we DEMAND—drunk dialing! 1 (678) 6-Z-GRRLZ!
At last! We’re back for episode 24. Rachel, Sarah and Explodey Jo wax nostalgic on what 2011 (an otherwise craptastic year) brought us on the silver screen and TV. We talk: Game of Thrones, American Horror Story, Dexter, the life sucking joy of Skyrim, creepy 8-bit spiders, we uncover Explodey’s (not so) secret facial hair lust, and why some times a bad touch can be good times — and a whole lot more. Plus, we take a look forward to what diabolical delights await us in 2012.
Be sure to stay tuned to the outtakes to find out which ZG will be breaking their neck very soon and to hear us continue our (lack of) feminist excellence by quoting our fave quote from The Signal.
Come reminisce with us in Zombie Grrlz Podcast Episode 24!
Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes! And while you’re there, why not leave a review on iTunes? <–No seriously, it’s awesome, you should totally do it.
We LOVE feedback and questions, so send us an email to Rachel@zombiegrrlz.com
or
Leave us a voice mail, we encourage—nay we DEMAND—drunk dialing! 1 (678) 6-Z-GRRLZ!
Looking for some diabolical bling? Check out our new etsy store! etsy.com/shop/TheZombieGrrlz
By: Zombie Grrl
There are a number of reasons that the “creepy house” film is such an enduring sub-genre of horror, they are relateable to audiences, budget-friendly for indie filmmakers and when done right, are effective as hell. But for a single location, spooky house film to work it’s all about building the atmosphere, isolation helps, but a good sound mix is essential. Match eerie music, sinister thuds with lots of doors, shadowy nooks and crannies you’re on the right track. And if you can throw in some ominous set dressing like animal skulls, dust cobwebs and miscellaneous unidentifiable things floating in jam jars you’ve got yourself a winner — as evidenced by The Silent House. The first two thirds of this Uruguayan import absolutely nails the atmosphere. As a result the film has garnered a fair amount of buzz both for its effective chills and for being a the first professionally shot, single take horror film. And mostly it’s deserved the acolades however, while the first two thirds are all claustrophobia, mystery and menacing bumps in the night, the final act, well… that’s another story.
Directed by Gustavo Hernández, The Silent House is allegedly is inspired by real events that took place in a small Uruguayan village in the 1940s and focuses on Laura a young woman who has met up with her father at an out of the way house which the two intend to begin repairing the following day in order to sell. As they settle in for the night Laura begins hearing a loud thudding sound, that at first seems to be coming from outside and then later from the floor above. Laura convinces her father to investigate upstairs while she waits below, when he doesn’t return after what sounds to be a vicious attack. Laura finds herself locked inside the house and what follows is a game of cat and mouse between Laura and the mysterious inhabitants of the house.
