Scream Queen Podcast (Janecka Olen)

In 1944 Spain, a girl is sent to live with her ruthless stepfather. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun. He tells her she's a princess but must prove her royalty by completing three tasks. In this episode, I get into the true horrors of the Spanish Civil War that inspired Guillermo del Toro in his writing and directing of this magical realm of gods and monsters.

In this episode, I will be covering the 1935 universal monster story The Bride of Frankenstein. As humanity grapples with themes of creation and social stigma, who is the real monster? For the true horrors, I give an overview of mad science that inspired the classic tale. I also get into the tragedy that befell the cast and crew of this film.

In this episode of Scream Queen Podcast, I will be going over the 1974 cult classic Black Christmas directed by Bob Clark. After reading a synopsis of the movie, I analyze the film with my guest Matthew Moyer. You will also learn about the urban legend that inspired the ominous calls and the true crime that started it all. This movie is largely regarded as the first slasher and a feminist film at that.

My theme for April is April Fuels Fury and I'm kicking this theme off with the classic horror film Carrie. She is a shy girl that doesn't fit in because of her sheltered life with a religious zealot of a mother. Through the trauma of being bullied at school and constantly punished by her mother, Carrie gains telekinetic powers. She is asked to the prom where she loses control of her new powers. For the true horrors, I cover the people from Stephen Kings past that he used as reference when creating Carrie and her mother. I also talk about the connections between bullying, misogyny, and mental health when it comes to mass shootings in schools.

A teenage girl discovers a box that carries magic powers and a deadly price for using them. This movie is loosely based on The Monkeys Paw. Directed by John Leonetti with writer Barbara Marshall. Staring Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, and Ki Hong Lee. In the true horrors segment, you will learn about the Folklore being the short story The Monkeys Paw by W.W. Jacobs in 1948.

Your Scream Queen host Janecka Olen will take you through a retelling of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and examine the themes of the film. You will also learn insider details and how the sawyer family was inspired by a serial killer named Ed Gein.

In this episode, you get a retelling of the 2006 remake of Black Christmas directed by Glen Morgan. Themes of family and what are now common horror tropes are explored in this film as we make connections to the original film. You will also learn about the real-life serial killer Edmund Kemper that Morgan used to influence his writing of the character Billy.

In this episode, I talk horror with my friend Sara Michelle Owner of @butcheredwaifuoddities. We discuss the horror comedy that crams the most references you will ever see on the horror genre in one film. A group of kids go to a remote cabin in the woods where their fate is unknowingly controlled by technicians as part of a world-wide conspiracy where all horror movie clichés are revealed to be part of an elaborate sacrifice ritual. For the true horrors, much of Drew Goddard's inspiration for this movie came from his own upbringing in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a place filled with scientists and co-workers all going about their business and living seemingly routine and ordinary lives even though they were building nuclear weapons that could potentially destroy the entire world. I get into the Manhattan Project Trinity Test.

Sources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/

https://www.history.com/news/atomic-bomb-test-victims-new-mexico-downwinders

In the 2019 reimagining of Black Christmas directed by Sophia Takal, we have a group of sorority girls that are ready to slay this Christmas. This film is a fiercely feminist take on the cult classic. For the true crime segment, I make connections to incels and how blaming women for men's deficits is nothing new.

In this episode, I cover Bride of Reanimator. Doctors Herbert West and Dan Cain discover the secret to creating human life and proceed to create a perfect woman from dead tissue. My guest for this episode is Ade from Slashers Podcast. We talked about the themes of evolution vs. creationism, the hubris of science, grief, and social rejection. For my true horrors' connection, I cover a morbid love story of Dr. Carl von Cose and his inability to move on when the woman of his affections passes away. He is known as the doctor who slept with a corpse.

Your Scream Queen host Janecka Olen will take you through the themes of good versus evil, post-Vietnam war fears, and hicksploitation among other themes in the original Wes Craven film The Hills Have Eyes. You will also learn about the true crime connections to the legend of the Sawney Bean Clan and post-war effects of Agent Orange.

I got a chance to interview Gene Dolders, director of the indie horror film The Blade Cuts Deeper.The Blade Cuts Deeper is a Giallo-inspired, slasher movie set in Liverpool, UK. Content has consequences...Many people want their five minutes of fame but for some, it comes at the ultimate price - their life!' Meet John Abbott, narcissistic host of infamous real-crime show Lights, Camera, KILL. Known for its lurid re-enactments of the darkest of trespasses, it has made him rich by exploiting pain and suffering. Yet while Abbott basks shamelessly in the limelight, one victim has seen enough. Broken by his loss, the man has a burning thirst for revenge - and now he wants to make Abbott bleed.

Movie Website:

https://www.thebladecutsdeeper.com/

https://youtu.be/oiFaMGak8r0?si=b15h7y2KlSAKkpjx

https://youtu.be/oiFaMGak8r0?si=r2Y5PkhpFu0OFzti

A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld. I make True Crime connections to the AIDS epidemic. As a gay man, Clive Barker the writer and director of Hellraiser was affected by this health crisis that was ignored. Leading to death and despair as it ravaged the gay community.

In this episode, I delve into the demons of The Devils Rejects. The Firefly family is a murderous psychopathic bunch that are running from the law after their home is raided by the police. The Devil’s Rejects explores themes of family, violence, and the darker side of humanity. Sheriff Wydell is the embodiment of a hero that turns into the villain when he crosses the thin line between the law and the outlaw. I also get into the true crime connections with the Manson Family, The Bloody Benders, and Tom Horn.

Today I will be covering 2001 Maniacs (2005). Directed by Tim Sullivan and written by Chris Kobin and Tim Sullivan. Starring Robert Englund, Lin Shaye, and Giuseppe Andrews. I talk horror with my guest Mikey from Slashers Podcast and we discuss the racist history behind the confederacy and what the confederate flag stands for. For the True Horrors, I give a shorthand on the American Civil War.

Resources:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/medieval-torture-methods/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264323/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-what-everyone-should-know-about-civil-war

A medical student sets out to recreate his decapitated fiancée by building her a new body made of Manhattan Sex Workers. In this episode I explore grief, feminism, objectification of women, big pharma, and the crack epidemic. For the true horrors, I get into the crack epidemic in American that started in the 1980's and how mandatory sentences have only hurt urban communities.

Resources used in this episode:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099611/?ref_=tttrv_ov

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenhooker

https://www.ghoulsmagazine.com/articles/the-shocking-brilliance-of-frankenhooker-1990

https://www.biography.com/crime/joel-rifkin

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/13/1186778651/crack-cocaine-epidemic-when-crack-was-king-donovan-x-ramsey

[Mulvanetti, JP. 2014, October 14. Frank Henenlotter - Basket Cases, Frankenhookers and Sexploitation!. ScareTissue.

In episode 9, I cover the cult classic Re-Animator. After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue. I talk horror with my guest Anthony Roman from Trash Panda and then I get into the true crime connections that stem from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

A leisurely Mexican holiday takes a turn for the worse when a group of friends and a fellow tourist embark on a remote archaeological dig in the jungle, where something evil lives among the ruins. In this episode, I talk horror with a local horror collector, and I make true horror connections between the flesh-eating vines in The Ruins and real carnivorous plants in nature.

Sources:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/carnivorous-plants-meat-eaters-of-the-plant-world.html

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963794/

Going into the New Year with a New Theme, "Be Careful What You Wish For." There is no better horror movie than the original 1997 Wishmaster to start this horror trope. A demonic djinn attempts to grant the one who wakes him three wishes, upon the third wish he is able to summon his brethren to Earth. Listen to a retelling of the movie, analysis of the film, and then we get into the real-world connections. Learn about the Jinn and how exorcisms related to the Jinn are used to rid people of mental and physical ailments.

In this episode, I have Lance from slashers podcast as my guest. We dive into the meta universe that is the horror genre in the late 90's. With influences from the Scream franchise, Chucky gets funny with horror references throughout the film. We also talk about the themes of toxic relationships and revenge. For my true horror's connection, I go over a condition called hybristophilia. A condition where people are attracted to criminals. I also draw comparisons between the fictional killer couple and a couple known as the Lonely Hearts Killers.

Recources:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/the-10-most-infamous-murderers-who-married-in-prison-145196/

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-lonely-hearts-killers-are-executed

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144120/

https://youtu.be/GLSs_E5_a28?si=2q1Su1fZ_m-yD21f

In this episode, I cover the horror film Jeepers Creepers, A brother and sister driving home through isolated countryside for spring break encounter a flesh-eating creature which is in the midst of its ritualistic eating spree. I talk horror with the scream queen from Trash Cat Productions and we play a little license plate game that will surely make you laugh. For the true horrors, I connect the opening scene of this movie to the case of Dennis DePue, a former Michigan Property Assessor who murdered his wife and was seen by witnesses near an old schoolhouse with a bloody sheet.

Guests: Trash Catt Productions: We Have to Go Back @wehavetogoback_42

Resources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263488/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_stry_pl#synopsis

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/JeepersCreepers

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dennis_DePue

Sarah is a new student at a Catholic school in Los Angeles. She befriends a group of witches and joins their coven. When they invoke the power of their god, they can take it to a place of light or darkness. In this episode, I talk horror with my friend Sarah, and we rehash our teenage witchy selves. I also get into how the Satanic Panic influenced the narrative in this story.