The Final Girls: A Horror Film Podcast

It’s Valentine’s Day, and we couldn’t resist talking about one of my own childhood favourites, Practical Magic. It’s a mix of romcom, horror, fantasy, drama and it’s weird as hell and very much peak nineties. The story centers on Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), the latest in a long line of witches who bear a particular curse: any man who dares to fall in love with an Owens woman will meet an untimely death. All grown up, Gillian gets involved with an abusive ‘Transylvanian cowboy’ who they accidentally kill. And then, not so accidentally, bring back to life. What follows is both a romance drama, horror film and procedural.

Our special guest this episode is film critic and nineties romcom pundit Rhianna Dhillon, and we discuss the cheesiness of Practical Magic, thirst over the actors, and discuss how it tackles real-life horrors like domestic abuse and stalking whilst remaining a blend of supernatural horror and romantic.

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Rhianna Dhillon, find her on @rhiannadhillon

In this episode, we go deep on two witch horror classics: Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980), both directed by Dario Argento.

Suspiria was the film that shot Argento to international fame, after it became an unexpected box office hit. It follows an an American ballet student, Susie (played by Jessica Harper) who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany but realizes, after a series of brutal murders, realises that the academy is actually a cover-up for a coven of witches, all bowing down to the Mother Suspiriorum, aka the founder of the academy, Helena Markos. After the runaway success of Suspiria, Argento was tasked to deliver a follow-up. Inferno, released three years after Suspiria, provides a lot of backstory to the The Three Mothers, exploring how the three witches set up shop in Freiburg, Rome and New York City, where Inferno is set. Our protagonists are many, but mostly siblings Rose Elliot, a poet living in New York, and Mark, a student in Rome. When Rose disappears, Mark goes to the States to try to find out what happened to his sister, and encounters the Mother of Darkness, the most terrifying of the Three Mothers.

This episode our guest is The Independent's chief film critic, Clarisse Loughrey, and we discuss the sensorial appeal of Argento's work, his unique take on violence and fear, *that cat scene* in Inferno, the relationship between The Three Mothers and where their power comes from. 

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Clarisse Loughrey, find her on @clarisselou

In this episode, we’re going to be discussing Sam Raimi’s comedy horror Drag Me To Hell in depth. Our protagonist is the young loan officer Christine (played by Alison Lohman), who, in order to prove to her boss that she can make the "hard decisions", chooses not to extend an elderly woman's mortgage. In retaliation, the woman, who turns to be a witch by the name of Mrs. Ganush, places a curse on Christine that, after three days of escalating torment, will plunge her into the depths of Hell to burn for eternity. The film follows Christine’s frantic attempts to rid herself of the curse, and her constant, increasingly violent persecution by otherworldly creatures

Anna is joined this episode by Mary Wild, the creator of the Projections lecture series, applying psychoanalysis to film interpretation, and the co co-host of the Projections Podcast with Sarah Cleaver. We go deep on different readings of Drag Me To Hell, from its gross-out effects, the body horror, how it portrays female ambition, trauma and insecurity, pathologies, body image, whether Mrs. Ganush is a witch (spoiler alert: yes), and PornHub as curated by Barbara Creed. 

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Mary Wild, find her on @psycstar

"Hell is under new management"

In this episode, we discuss in depth the new series of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, available now on Netflix.

Though she defeated her father Lucifer in the previous series, the Dark Lord remains trapped within the human prison of her boyfriend, Nick Scratch. Sabrina can't live with herself, knowing that Nick is burning in Hell. So with an assist from her mortal friends, “The Fright Club” (Harvey, Rosalind, and Theo), Sabrina makes it her mission to free him from eternal damnation. However, the Dark Lord's unseating has sent shockwaves through the realms—and, with no on the throne, Sabrina must assume the title of “Queen of Hell” to defend it against a challenger, the Prince of Hell, Caliban. Meanwhile, in Greendale, a mysterious carnival rolls into town, bringing with it a threat to the Spellmans and the coven...

A lot of stuff happens in this new series, and Anna is joined by Screen Queenz editor Millicent Thomas to dive deep into how Chilling Adventures of Sabrina fully embraces Hell, paganism, female solidarity and ambition, how maybe Sabrina needs to be single for a while, erasure and the balance of powers. 

The first part of the conversation won't contain spoilers beyond the first episode, but we will be diving deep into spoiler territory later on in the episode. 

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Millicent Thomas, find her on @millicentonfilm and @screenqueenz

We're diving into a childhood favourite and campy classic Hocus Pocus, from 1993. 

The devious Sanderson Sisters (a trio of witches, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimi) return from the grave to continue their quest for immortality. The Sandersons were burnt at the stake in the 17th century because of their penchant for, ahem, sucking the lifeforce of children to remain forever young, beautiful and powerful. They come back from the grave in the 1990s, where a scrappy gang of kids, including a magical, talking cat, take it upon themselves to stop the coven. There’s also a musical number because, you know, Bette Midler. 

In this episode, I welcome not one but two esteemed guests: film critic and broadcaster Tara Judah, and Thea Berry, Cinema Producer at the Watershed in Bristol and curator of the film season Reclaiming The Witch, which played at the Watershed last year.

We talk about the terrifying make-up of the Sanderson sisters, the campiness versus the creepiness, how witches are  hate children, *that* musical number, and the things that terrified us about witches as children.

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guests this episode are Tara Judah, follow her on @midnightmovies, and Thea Berry, who is on @theaberry4

In this episode, we’ll be taking on the 1999 found footage horror, The Blair Witch Project.

The Blair Witch Project is the original found footage horror that follows three film students, Heather, Michael and Joshua, as they go into the Maryland backwoods to cover the mystery behind the Blair Witch incidents, which legend says are the product of an exiled witch taken her revenge on the town that wronged her. However, they lose their map and things take an unexpected turn. 

It’s an interesting one to discuss in this series dedicated to witches - because there’s a lot of talking about the witch, a lot of witchy business going on, but the witch herself is never seen. 

Anna is joined by BAFTA-nominated writer and director Nat Luurtsema to discuss the impact, legacy and witch credentials of found footage horror The Blair Witch Project (1999). We discuss the power of atmosphere, how less is more with the legend of the Blair Witch, Heather as a unlikable lead character, and the impact it had on horror filmmakers everywhere. 

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Nat Luurtsema, follow her work on @natluurtsema 

In our first episode of 2020, we dive in our  first TV show AND a Very Important One at that: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The beloved cult TV series, created by Joss Whedon, ran for seven seasons from 1997 til its finale in 2003. The series’ protagonist is the titular Buffy, a teenage girl trying to make sense of high school whilst also grappling with being the Slayer, the latest in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. 

We’re going to be specifically focusing on how witchcraft is presented throughout the whole series, paying special attention to the evolution of the show’s main witch, Willow Rosenberg (played by Alyson Hannigan), who over the course of seven seasons transforms from a shy, studious girl into the most powerful witch in the Buffyverse. 

Anna is joined by podcaster and Buffy connoisseur Becky Darke to discuss magic crack dens, magic as a metaphor for female sexuality, the balance of power, and the very few warlocks presented throughout the show. 

***

To coincide with our season of films and events, Here Be Witches, we will be focusing this first series on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Explore the Here Be Witches programme here

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Becky Darke, follow her work on @bunnydarke and listen to her podcast Don't Point That Horror At Me 

In this episode of our witch series, we take on Robert Eggers' The Witch (aka The VVitch: A New England Folk Tale). Set in 1630s New England, English settler William and his family—wife Katherine, daughter Thomasin, son Caleb, and twins Mercy and Jonas—are banished from a Puritan Colony over a religious dispute. William and Katherine try to lead a devout Christian life on an isolated and borderline barren farm. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. Rumours of a witch in the woods are plenty, tensions rise high, and fingers start being pointed at their eldest daughter, Thomasin. 

The film is deliciously ambiguous, and Anna is joined by filmmaker Chloë Wicks to discuss her first viewing of it and why it stuck, Robert Eggers' research-heavy approach to naturalism and dialogue, the ambiguity of the characters, its feminist reclaiming, the different archetypes of the witch and the seductive voice of Black Phillip. 

***
 
The Final Girls are a UK-based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism.

We will be focusing this first series of our podcast on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Chloë Wicks, follow her on @chloehwicks

In this episode, we discuss the lesser-known Hammer horror film The Witches (aka The Devil's Own), starring Joan Fontaine as an uptight English teacher who comes into the small town of Heddaby to teach at a private children's school run by local siblings Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), a well-known journalist, and Alan (Alec McCowen), a wannabe vicar. Very soon, Gwen starts getting inklings that things are not as they seem in the seemingly idyllic village.

The film is surprisingly conservative, and Anna is joined by Professor Marion Gibson to discuss its themes and legacy. It's a fascinating precursor to The Wicker Man, its elements of folk horror, witchcraft as intellectual ambition, trauma, elitism, stereotypes of older single women and dance horror. 

***
 
The Final Girls are a UK-based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism.

We will be focusing this first series of our podcast on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is Professor Marion Gibson, follow her on @witchesetc 

In this episode, we discuss the comedy horror The Witches of Eastwick (1987), featuring a star-studded cast including Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher and Jack Nicholson. Three single women in a village have their wishes granted when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives. 

The film is full of raunchy comedy, big hairdos and presents witchcraft as an aspirational, empowering tool for women who have been trying to fit into a stifling community. Anna is joined by actor Isaura Barbé-Brown to discuss how the film deals with repressed sexuality and female creativity, slut-shaming and the power of covens (even if they’re accidental). 

***

The Final Girls are a UK-based film collective exploring the intersections of horror film and feminism.

We will be focusing this first series of our podcast on exploring all things witchcraft on film. Each episode, we will dive deep into films and TV shows that we can’t necessarily screen. Each episode, we’ll be joined with special guests to dissect and discuss a film or show, its legacy and the way witches are represented.

Find out more about our projects here: thefinalgirls.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Anna on @annabdemented and Olivia is on @livihowe 

Our special guest this episode is actor Isaura Barbé-Brown, follow her on @isaura_bb and  find her on Instagram on @isaurasaurus