Eye On Horror

A Rally for More Women Directed Horror

April 25, 2022 iHorror Season 5 Episode 6
Eye On Horror
A Rally for More Women Directed Horror
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

This episode, the guys discuss The Northman, Wrymwood: Apocalypse, The Massive Weight of Unbearable Talent, George A. Romero in the 90's and Jacaranda Joe (his Sasquatch proof of concept, before lamenting about the shelving of Karyn Kusama's Mina Harker focused Dracula  leading to a discussion on Women Directed Horror Movies.

https://linktr.ee/EyeOnHorror

*Correia accidently said 2001 instead of 2021 when giving the statistic of "female directors made up 17% of the of directors working on the top 250 grossing films in 2021"

Follow us on the socials: @EyeOnHorror or check out https://linktr.ee/EyeOnHorror
Get more horror movie news at: https://ihorror.com

James Jay Edwards:

Welcome to Eye On Horror the official podcast of ihorror.com This is episode 84 Otherwise known as season five episode six. I am your host James Jay Edwards and with me as always is your other host Jacob Davison How you doing Jacob?

Jacob Davidson:

Doing okay just tired had a rough night.

James Jay Edwards:

Rough Night? Uh oh

Jacob Davidson:

I was driving back from Horror trivia and this like storm hit and I was like trying to get it was trying to get out of the hills crazy now

James Jay Edwards:

yeah rained hard even down here it rained really hard last

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, yeah they tried driving down like the fucking like Northern Hills during a torrential downpour that was some intense shit.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, this is yeah, I mean, it raid Correia and Jacob are in LA I'm in San Diego. It rains maybe 10 days total out of the year. And I guess Jacob we're caught and one of them. Also with us, as always is your other other hosts Jon Correia How you doing Correia?

Jonathan Correia:

It rained last night.

James Jay Edwards:

Rain hard down here.

Jonathan Correia:

Oh, well, I mean, like I'm on the other side of the hills that Jacob was just talking. And well, look, look who was a who was a sleepy boy and slept right through it. I guess. No, I was out cold by midnight. So doing old man things.

James Jay Edwards:

The rain hit here. Actually, it was probably like two in the morning when it actually hits so but it it hit hard. It rained really hard. Especially this morning when I got up to feed the dogs at six. It was really coming down. But the sun is shining bright right now. And it is 8:05am

Jonathan Correia:

Beautiful day.

James Jay Edwards:

Is it clear cleared up fast. So what do you guys been doing? I saw what has knocked X out of my number one movie of the year. And it isn't Everything Everywhere All at Once. Oh, you saw Ambulance? No. I saw The Northmen Oh, is freaking awesome. I loved it. It it's it's kind of typical Robert Eggers. You know, it's that period piece thing where I think people like The VVitch people will benefit by watching it with subtitles. Yes. Just so because, I mean, it's not quite as bad as The VVitch in that regard. Because they don't go like Ole English, but it's just they have heavy accents. But it is I mean it. It's weird because I usually don't like period movies like that. But I love the Green Knight and I love The Northmen so maybe I'm taking a turn on him. It's basically it's it's it's a retelling of the Old Norse legend that inspired Hamlet. So it's you know, a dude who, whose dad gets killed and he vows revenge. But it is. It's just brutally violent. It is just, it's just caked in mud and blood and it's so awesome. There's one scene in the trailer that I love that it's just so baller where the Vikings are storming this castle and one of the castle guards throws a spear and the prince His name is Amleth with the guy who he's a prince because his dad that was killed was a king. He catches the spear does a spin and throws it back and hits the guy who threw the spear if you watch real quick, it's a quick snippet of it but you can see it in the trailer it's such a baller move

Jonathan Correia:

that is like A number 1 the way to do it if you if you're able to pull that off and you're in the situation like that you know like battle or whatever it's so if there was a spirit you were able to catch it and throw it back at that person that's just like you get to go home after that

James Jay Edwards:

it well no they still had to storm the castle

Jonathan Correia:

Wait no you should get a medal and go home because like you did it you'd like you did the thing but yeah

James Jay Edwards:

The Northman but it's it's amazing. I mean it's just more that epic it's not that epic though. I think it might be two hours and 17 It's not like as epic as you know. I mean, it's Green Knight epic. It's not it's not the Batman epic. But it's a Yeah, you guys need to see it. It's It's so good. It's you know, it's borderline horror. But you know, look who you're talking to. So I'm fine with I'm fine with

Jonathan Correia:

Mr. Fringe. Well, I I rented and watched talking about

Wormwood:

Apocalypse. I don't know if you guys remember

Wyrmwood:

Road of the Dead. That

Jacob Davidson:

Oh I remember.

James Jay Edwards:

I remember watching it I don't remember the movie

Jonathan Correia:

came out 2016 It's an Australian zombie movie. And again, it's a sequel to the first one, which is kind of Mad Max meets, you know, zombies. And in this world these it's like the zombie apocalypse has been going on for quite going on for so long that people realize that these zombies are giving off fumes out of their mouths, and they use that to fuel their cars. So all the cars are, like, souped up Mad Max is with zombies strapped to them and like masks on them to fuel the car. But there's like really cool world building rules, like, the zombies don't do the fume thing at night, but they are way more dangerous at night, you know, stuff like that. But by the end of the first movie, one of the characters has like powers that she can control the zombies and stuff. So this new film, you know, just continues that story. Like it opens up with that final scene, you know, it goes right into it. And, man, it's a lot of fun, man, if you like the first Wyrmwood movie, you're gonna enjoy the hell out of Apocalypse, because it's literally just continuing it. And they follow a new character who's like kidnapping people to give to these scientists, as they say they're trying to find a cure, and in quotes, but you know, they're just evil scientists. And it's just a lot of fun. It's from the same team who also did. Nekrotronic. I think I said the name right, too. And, yeah, especially if you're a fan of zombies, Mad Max Ozploitation films. It's a it's a fun afternoon.

Jacob Davidson:

I imagine there are car chases.

Jonathan Correia:

Oh, are there car chases, there's some really great car chases in it. Not as much as the zombies. The action is more on the emphasis with the zombies and whatnot. But there is some really cool, there's one in particular cool. Chase that happens with the vehicles. But yeah, I recommend it. I have a lot of fun with those movies. And I hope I think they're they were doing a 10 episode series and a third movie, if this one's successful, so throw your money at it.

Jacob Davidson:

All right, I'll have to keep an eye out on that because I saw the original Wyrmwood years ago. As for me, I saw a new kind of sci fi kind of horror ish type movie was Riley Stearn's Dual. You guys know this one?

James Jay Edwards:

With Karen Gillan, right?

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah. Basically, it takes place in this kind of, maybe alternate universe, maybe the future where this woman finds out she's dying of a terminal disease. And they have this operation where they can just make a clone of you to take over your life once you you're dead. But the trick of it is, is that they have to spend time with you before you die, so that they can kind of learn to imitate you and be like you. But oops, when you know that she's not dying, and the law says that now they have to have a duel to the death in one year to decide who can live their life. And it it's pretty wild and it has a lot of great tension building but also it's really funny. And the mirroring effects are really good because like there's a lot of scenes with Karen Gillan and Karen Gillan, but you can't really tell like, who's I guess the real wonder who CG or how they kind of pulled off both of them in the same scene. Also, Aaron Paul is in it as a martial arts and fighting instructor who teaches Karen Guillen's character how to fight Karen Gillan basically,

James Jay Edwards:

is the duel, like televise like a big deal.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, in fact, the opening scene is shows one of them. And yeah, it's like this kind of big televised sporting event and people in the background. Basically, there's, it's kind of a battle royale thing where it's like each sides, each person starts at a different side, and there's a table full of weapons like spears, and a crossbow and swords and javelins, and hooks, and basically all kinds of random stuff. But the main focus is on just kind of Karen Gilens character as she kind of, like adjusts a life with, you know, like, kind of her mortality, but also this clone, and then you know, having to realize yes to fight her clone to, you know, keep living. It's pretty wild stuff. And, ya know, it's incredibly well written. And, yeah, it's not it's, it's, it's kind of it's kind of slow paced, it will be not as though it's those though it's still very entertaining. So the duel itself isn't exactly the main focus, but it's very well written and it does get pretty creepy at times. And, but also there's a lot of funny bits it bits in there as kind of a Uh, you know, she you know, she kind of contends with her life and just, and just kind of how weird this society is with clones. So yeah, I'd recommend it. It's like one of the best kind of sci fi world building moves I've seen this year.

James Jay Edwards:

Is it D-U-E-L or D-U-A-L

Jacob Davidson:

DUAL

James Jay Edwards:

So it's do all Yeah, it's

Jacob Davidson:

a it's a it's a play on words. Yeah,

James Jay Edwards:

that sounds saying it could work for either.

Jacob Davidson:

D ual, get it, I get it.

Jonathan Correia:

That's that's a great way to also differentiate it from Steven Spielberg Duel, which is, yeah,

Jacob Davidson:

yeah. Sadly, Karen Gillan and Karen Gillan don't chase each other in a truck and a car. I'd watched that. I would watch that.

Jonathan Correia:

She's been killing it. I absolutely loved. What was it Milkshake?

Jacob Davidson:

Gunpowder Milkshake,

Jonathan Correia:

Gunpowder Milkshake. That was just such a fun movie. And yeah, that was a good time. Oh, and like just so many badass women in it like Angela Bassett and Michelle Yeoh, and they were just fucking fantastic as librarians.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah. Good shit.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, I did you guys see Ambulance. No, it's Yeah, it's very Michael Bay. not really horror. But I do want to touch upon it. Ambulance. The new Michael Bay movie is probably one of the the better movies he's made. But it's still there. It's weird. There's there's a lot of like, unintentional funny moments. And then when they try to be funny, it just doesn't work. And there's like some really good moments in it like that first, like half hour I was sitting there going, Holy shit. Is this a Michael Bay movie that I'm gonna love because I'm loving Man it is. But like, there's one point where the paramedic has to this so far. This is this is fantastic. Like, all throughout the heist, it's great. And then like, once they get into the give surgery because they they pull a heist that goes wrong. Ambulance, it was like, it was like they were trying to figure out what more they could do in there. And they couldn't cut out And then the two brothers take over an Ambulance that has a cop anything. There was a lot of cool stuff in there. But it's that one of them shot in it. And they hijack that to try to It just every time you say that all I could think of is that it's a ridiculous movie. There's there's a point where they have what the paramedic and they because it's, you know, two escape. And so as long as they and they're trying to keep the brothers. And they make sure that you there's two things that cop alive, because if the cop dies, and that's, you know, life they drive into your head that these guys are brothers and that this takes place in LA, it's like every two seconds. It's in prison, as opposed to just like most of your life in like we're brothers. Oh, they're brothers. They're We're brothers. And we're in LA. prison, I guess. I don't I don't know law. And there's one point where the paramedic has to do surgery on him to keep them alive. And she's like getting instructions from an old ex boyfriend and some other surgeons who are playing golf over zoom on like the tablet that also has the hot heart monitor on it. I didn't believe that tech. But yeah, it was just a really weird and goofy scene. And like, I like I really wanted to like Ambulance a lot more than I did. But it I feel like it could have if it shaved like 20 minutes off. It could have been a lot more fun. But yeah, it was a very, very high energy very tiring movie, like every other shot is done by a drone. And that drone is just going fucking mental through downtown LA. So I mean, like, it's fine. I'd recommend it if you're bored on like a no and it's on HBO or something on a weekend and it's like, I need a few hours to kill. Why not? Let's watch Ambulance. viral video of that guy beating up the other guy on the bus and him saying that man is gonna need an Ambulance. I don't say Ambulance I say Ambulance. Okay, okay. I'm

Jacob Davidson:

just saying. Remind

James Jay Edwards:

you guys, I know Jacob has seen it. Have you guys seen the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent?

Jonathan Correia:

No, not yet.

Jacob Davidson:

I did. I did.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, Korea you have to see it. It's as a Nic Cage fan. You have to see it because it is. It sounds so weird to say this. But Nic Cage was born to play the part of Nick Cage.

Jacob Davidson:

To clarify, it's like Nicolas Cage plays a character named Nick Cage and that it's Nic K cage instead of an IC O L S A S. Cage.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, Nicolas Cage is playing Nic Cage. And then the Nic Cage gets enlisted by the CIA to play Nic Cage. So there's like layers upon layers. It's almost like Nic Cage gets cast in a Nic Cage. In this Nick Cage movie,

Jacob Davidson:

explain Nick Cage.

Jonathan Correia:

Meanwhile, Nick Cage,

James Jay Edwards:

the only thing that's unreal realistic about it is that he's having trouble finding roles at the beginning of the movie, which Nick Cage does not have trouble finding roles. But um, but the reason he ends up on Borka Majorca, I guess is how you say it. Because he there's a superfan who wants him at his birthday party and is paying them a million dollars. So he flies to Majorca. He gets caught up in this spy ring. And it's amazing because this super fan is he's a super fan. I

Jacob Davidson:

mean, he Pedro Pascal.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, it's played by Pedro Pascal, who is the Mandalorian. And also over on in, in Game of Thrones, but he I mean, I don't really want to spoil any of the really fun parts. But this dude is a super fan. Like stupidly super fan of Nick Cage.

Jacob Davidson:

There's a lot of Nicolas Cage movie props that made cameos in the movie, throughout the movie, really.

James Jay Edwards:

And it references pretty much I mean, it references The Croods 2 it, it references

Jacob Davidson:

Rumble Fish.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, it references so many of the so many Nic Cage movies. And it's cool, because it's the kind of thing where, if it wasn't Nick Cage playing himself, you would think they were making fun of them. But because he's actually there. It's kind of like a wink and a nudge. And he's like, oh, yeah, I know. I've made all these movies.

Jacob Davidson:

It's affectionate.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it treats his cinematic catalogue with like admiration and respect. Instead of making fun of this guy. I'll take any role. You know, it's, it's, it's pretty incredible, though. I mean, it's, it's just the definition of a fun movie.

Jonathan Correia:

But I need to know what prop from Left Behind. Does it does he just have Chad Michael Murray in a in a glass case just on standby. Or do they have the plane?

Jacob Davidson:

Sadly, no. Left Behind reference. Although there was a there was a Mandy reference. Yep. Oh,

Jonathan Correia:

were you happy about that, Jacob?

Jacob Davidson:

Yes, I was.

Jonathan Correia:

Are you happy about the Mandy reference?

Jacob Davidson:

Yes. I was very happy about that. Jon. I was very happy.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, cuz you like that movie? I think.

James Jay Edwards:

And I was happy because the movie literally begins with with a character watching Con Air. And I'm like, Okay, I'm in. Fade fade in on it.

Jonathan Correia:

Which is how like, every movie should open. Just somebody's watching Con Air.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, no, especially if it's something send the 90s like your if it said in the 90s You're watching Con Air on edited for TV.

Jonathan Correia:

Oh, if you're if it takes place in the early 2000s You're watching Con Air on TNT. Like that's just

James Jay Edwards:

Oh, yeah, yeah. If it takes place last weekend, you're watching Con Air on TNT in between Star Wars marathons.

Jacob Davidson:

And I got something I wanted to talk about. Cuz you guys know that George A Romero Foundation, like the nonprofit group that you know, is dedicated studies and archived all of George A Romero's work.

Jonathan Correia:

Yep.

James Jay Edwards:

Yeah.

Jacob Davidson:

Okay. So, last week, they did a special I mean, you had me at George Romero Sasquatch movie, so I screening of an unearthed kind of proof of concept that George J. Romero did for a Bigfoot movie he was trying to do back in the 90s called, is back in the 90s called Jacaranda Joe is Bigfoot moving away and, man, it was wild. Ghetto because he was way ahead of curve on this. So basically, Romero wanted to make a Bigfoot movie and he wanted to frame it, kind of in a found footage, talk show kind of way. So it's basically about this daytime talk show like Donahue or Springer or whatever. And because this other show is like this hunting show with this celebrity football star guest in the Florida Everglades caught footage of Bigfoot, aka Jacaranda Joe. And it's actually pretty creepy, because you know, it's like it because it is framed within the talk show. And they're watching the footage. And these hunters going through the woods and you know, it seemed pretty normal. And then like, there's some pretty effective parts where like Bigfoot just kind of hiding in plain sight or hiding in the background. It'd be that helps head it's kind of captured from a VHS tape to begin with. But yeah, it's only like, it was only 17 minutes, but it was such a great setup. Yeah, it just really makes you think what could have been? mean, oh, yeah.

James Jay Edwards:

You had me at Bigfoot movie,

Jonathan Correia:

but that's a great concept too. And that's one of the that's one of the unfortunate things is like you you hear about someone like George Romero, especially who just had so many cool ideas and, and stuff that he was trying to get off the ground and just could not get the funding, especially 90s. Romero like he I, for some reason was like persona non grata and in a lot of circles,

James Jay Edwards:

which is weird, because even by the 90s, people realized how influential he was so why was he having trouble get unless it was a Stephen King movie? Why weren't people given him money?

Jonathan Correia:

It really wasn't until like, the like DVD horde generation came up, you know that he started to like, get that respect and start getting funding again, which is what led to like Land of the Dead and whatnot. But even like Bruiser would I remember went through hell getting released, which was one of his early 2000 titles and but yeah, once Land of the Dead came out then it was like, oh, yeah, the smaller companies are gonna give me money to keep making more, you know, of the dead movies and whatnot. So went for it.

James Jay Edwards:

I wonder if that's what it is. I wonder if you know, because he wanted to do things like Monkey Shines or the Dark Half. And everyone's like, all Hey, when are we going to get another zombie movie? Yeah,

Jacob Davidson:

yeah, I think he might have been pigeonholed a bit, especially because the zombie movie craze came back with a vengeance in the early 2000s. So I think that's kind of what fueled bad. Yeah, yeah. Like, what was your story like Romero? Thanking Edgar Wright for like making such a big zombie movie?

Jonathan Correia:

Well, I mean, he I remember he definitely like had very kind words for Shaun of the Dead and to the point where he casted you know, Edgar Wright and

Jacob Davidson:

Simon Pegg,

Jonathan Correia:

Simon Pegg guys carnival zombie zombie carnival and Land of the Dead where they were like, getting pinned on to the zombie or dunk tank or do something like take a

Jacob Davidson:

picture with the zombies.

Jonathan Correia:

That's what it was. Yeah. Yeah. No, it

Jacob Davidson:

could have been making. Like he had that one about the Vietnam veterans that were made into, like super soldiers zombies, and he wanted to do that Nuns From Space movie, and yeah, he really wanted to do a Bigfoot movie because he had not just Jacaranda Joe, like he was pitching a couple of different Bigfoot ideas around for years that sadly never materialized beyond this proof of concept,

Jonathan Correia:

which between his ponytail and his trade, his trademark ponytail and trademark vests. He looks like someone who goes Bigfoot hunting,

Jacob Davidson:

I believe they call it squashing

Jonathan Correia:

squashing, yeah. That's not an insult at all. Like he just looked prepared to go get some footage and, you know, do some foot castings and stuff.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah. And the irony is, is that he would have probably found success with Jacaranda Joe, because this was years before the Blair Witch Project, and they failed, kind of in the style of something like that. Is it found footage? Yes. Yeah, it was footage? Well, in the perfect Yeah, the proof of concept was, you know, like this talk show. And then the footage was from another TV show that caught footage of Bigfoot. And I think the rest of the movie would have been them like going into the Everglades to try and find Bigfoot. And you know, what happens when people try to find Bigfoot needs movies.

Jonathan Correia:

It sounds like it would have been like George A Romero's Legend of Boggy Creek. Yeah. And that just makes me so sad that I can't see that. In some universe someplace. Maybe it's there's a there's a perfect universe out there where George A Romero got to make his Sasquatch movie and the first Resident Evil movie. Yes, there's a perfect universe out there.

James Jay Edwards:

Did he? Do you guys get around to watching that Netflix movie, Choose or Die?

Jonathan Correia:

No,

Jacob Davidson:

no,

James Jay Edwards:

it's all right. I mean, it's good because it's on Netflix and it's quote free. But it's, it's basically about these two computer geeks who they they find this old video game from the 80s. And as they play the game, the stuff that they're playing like actually happens. You know, it's it's pretty typical in that regard. But like, there's one scene where one of them's her mom is in her apartment, and there's like a rat in there that's like going to eat her like a giant rat. And she and she can see it's like a like a, like an eight bit two dimensional map of the thing. And she's like, Oh, she's okay. No, no, the rat is it stay in the kitchen? Or stay in the bathroom? Stay in the bathroom? And then she goes, Okay, no, it's now gone down the hallway. So now make a run for the window. You know, she's like, trying to tell her mom what to do, because she can see where the things are in the video. It's kind of it's kind of tense. And I mean, it's, it's all right. But it's it's one of those movies that like the tech already looks dated, because it's modern times and they are using you know, it's a video game from the 80s. But they it kind of works because one of the one of them repairs old like Commodore Amiga has, you know, kind of a thing, you know, they they repair and sell old, old computer systems. So it kind of works. But they load the the game off of off of a cassette tape. That's how old tech is. It's not even a floppy disk. It's a cassette. It's, you know, it's cool because it's free on Netflix quote free even though Getting more expensive by the month, it seems but

Jonathan Correia:

can you record a video game onto a cassette tape?

James Jay Edwards:

Is that that used to be before floppy disks, that was the data.

Jonathan Correia:

Okay,

James Jay Edwards:

that's how you'd have to do it. But the thing is, you would have to know where on the tape. I remember I had an old ti 99 that had a cassette recorder to save to and you had to know where on the tape it was. And then you would hit your load command and then you'd hit play on the recorder. And if you hit record, instead of play, there goes your there goes your program. But yeah, that was you used to be able to record you would It would save to cassettes.

Jonathan Correia:

Okay,

James Jay Edwards:

yeah, you'd have to, you'd have to know, you know, where on the tape, the program was in order to reload it.

Jonathan Correia:

Learn something new every day. I because I wasn't in doubt that cassette tapes could be used as a storage, you know, device. I mean, it make sense because they have stuff on it, but I couldn't make the connection there. So

James Jay Edwards:

it's just magnetic, you know, and if you'd play it, if you would play one of those. In a regular player, it would sound like a fax machine kind of thing. Or, you know, the data sounds like it sounds like like, like a modem or a fax machine. But yeah, those are the old I'm dating myself. This is how everybody knows I'm like 20 years older than you guys. Because I remember when they would use cassettes to it cataloging was a bit check and see why they went to floppy disks because those, they were easily more easily searchable.

Jonathan Correia:

Oh, I remember floppy disks. I found actually a I don't know if it works. Yes, I don't have any floppy disks on me. But I found a converter where it's like you plug it in via USB for floppy disks. Wow. I've been wanting to get my hands on some floppies to try to get to work.

James Jay Edwards:

When you say floppies. Do you mean the little three and a half inch ones? Or the five and a half inch ones?

Jacob Davidson:

Probably the three and a half when?

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, that's good. The more common one. Yeah.

James Jay Edwards:

Because right after cassette tapes, they went to these big five. They might have been five and a quarter. But yeah, these big discs that were thinner than the three and a half inch.

Jonathan Correia:

And before then it was like discs that were the size of records you know, 12 inches and

James Jay Edwards:

yeah, I never use discs. Yeah, I never used those. I went right from cassette tapes to two big floppies and then two little floppies

Jonathan Correia:

I'm still trying to get a laserdisc player someday.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, those things are pretty expensive, right? I mean,

Jonathan Correia:

yeah. And then but I'm always on the lookout in thrift stores for them because you can occasionally find one in okay shape, but the problem is is LaserDisc players also look like five disc CD players. So I always get super excited and go, Oh, yeah, I finally found off buckets, a five disc CD

James Jay Edwards:

changer. Dammit. Because they're in a carousel instead of stack. Yeah. So

Jonathan Correia:

one day.

James Jay Edwards:

Let's move on to our topic which this was inspired by the sad news that Karyn Kusama's Dracula has been shelfed, has been cancelled. And it got us thinking about there's been kind of a renaissance of it lately, but there still are not enough women making horror movies. Yeah. And I know that we were looking at this list that Correia it was like a letterbox list and there are it's better than it was the you know, like years ago, but they're still they're woefully underrepresented even though last year. Two of the best movies of the year Candyman and Titane were made by women and Saint Maud. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Saint Maud.

Jonathan Correia:

I was gonna say Did you just fucking forget Saint Maud?

James Jay Edwards:

I totally did I forgot Saint Maud. And yeah. Oh my gosh.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah.

James Jay Edwards:

How embarrassing is that? So three of the best movies of last year.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah.

James Jay Edwards:

And Censor as well. So four

Jonathan Correia:

and Fear Street 94

James Jay Edwards:

All three fear streets. We could make a top 10 of just female director move

Jonathan Correia:

my top five was four out of five. At least. Yeah. But and that's and that's a like I understand you know, it often happens a lot where you'll see there's a period where suddenly five different studios are doing movies that are very similar, you know or get announced the same time we've seen him get released you know, there's the infamous like Antz versus Bug's Life or after Tiger King came out there was like three projects including one that had Nic Cage attached to it for a moment but only one succeeded so are you know that cycle every now and then when like three Robin Hood movies are being produced at the same time. So it's understandable that like when it was announced that there was going to be like three or four Dracula related movies coming out that one of them was going to fall off. I'm just really sad it was Karyn's because because her Dracula film is going to focus on Mina Harker more than the others. And she made the point that the original book took on multiple perspectives, even though for the most part, adaptations just focused on Jonathan Harker or Draculas perspective, hers would have been for Mina's, which sounds really interesting. And she was making it with her partner. And they did The Invitation and Destroyer together, which are two phenomenal films. So I was beyond stoked at a, you know, mid budget Dracula film from that perspective. But so yeah, that's real sad. And yeah, that that list we found on letterboxd is called Horror Films Directed

by Women:

1900 To Present, it was made and maintained, because I see she just updated it recently, by Gory B Movie. And there's it's a very sad trend where you see in the early 1900s, there's a lot of adaptations by like, Alice Guy Blanche, where I didn't know that she did a version of The Pit and the Pendulum, which is awesome. And then nothing for like, 30-40 years until Ida Lupita's The Hitchhiker. And then like, it just keeps you keep seeing these, like gaps in releases and stuff. And it's very unfortunate.

Jacob Davidson:

It's very true. Yeah, no, I think it's like, like you were saying just that there have been way too many gaps. And horror has gotten a little bit better about women in horror directing, but we could do way, way better.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah. Especially since like, I mean, were you looking at even recent years where we're saying it's getting better? It's only a handful of mid to decent budgets ones there. And a lot of these films aren't getting wide releases and what have you. I mean, there's the exceptions, you know, with like Candyman and the Fear Street trilogy, you know, getting proper releases, but there's a lot that were kind of swept under the rug or not getting a wide release, but they they're fantastic movies of going through this list and seeing what's coming out recently. One thing I really love is Shudder has an entire collection where it's just films directed by women, or CO directed by women, and they do a really great job of acquiring recent films that are if we ever get a chance to or next time, if you ever get a chance, next time you're on Shudder look up that collection. There's some really great gems in there.

Jacob Davidson:

Ya know, like I was just thinking about how V/H/S 94 had couple of women directors and in its anthology, because there was Chloe Okuno and Jennifer Reader, and it really became a fan of theirs after that one like, I was also lucky to see Chloe OKuno upcoming movie Watcher for Sundance that's going to be coming up this year. So also just going to say that that when that does come out, definitely go out and see it and support it. Because I definitely want to see more from her and Jen. Let's see and Jennifer Reader did Knives And Skin which I thought was really fun movie and looking forward to whatever she's got coming up. But ya know, there's a lot of women directors, particularly I feel in the recently in anthologies, so you know, always just keep an eye out for

Jonathan Correia:

that anthologies, and, and low budget slashers there's been a lot of really good modern slashers being made by female directors. I just watched the Ranger on Shudder the other day.

Jacob Davidson:

Oh, yeah.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, I mean, it had me at punk rock, you know, slasher film. But that one was directed by Jen Wexler, and that's on Shudder and it's a really fun movie. Creative kills. Characters are a lot of fun to watch, you know. And then of course, you know, there's the the Ultimates with Slumber Party Massacre trilogy.

Jacob Davidson:

Well quadrilogy now because there's that new one that came out last year.

Jonathan Correia:

That's I'm still nothing gets to do what I'm just still adjusting to referring to it as a quadro today because that would definitely earned its spot as as a part of it

Jacob Davidson:

now as directed by Dinesh gka Esterhazy and I really liked it too, and I felt like it was very in line with the franchise and also isn't it amazing that there's a slasher franchise like the Slumber Party Slumber Party massacre directed entirely by women?

Jonathan Correia:

It's awesome. It's, it's honestly one of my favorite things is that Cuadrilla it, especially when you look going through that list, one of the trends I noticed is how many of the major horror franchises are Aren't directed by women. And if they are, it's like a very late entry in it. Oh, yeah. Like Freddy'S final nightmare. Candyman. And then and then CandyMan. It's it's the fourth one, you know? I mean, it's it's it's not like there isn't qualified female directors out there and it's not just our it not just our niche of the industry as well I mean just on average the amount of female directors that are getting that work or getting their projects off the ground is very low in the industry as a whole.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, I mean, that's sadly the state of it, you know, going back to Karyn Kusama's Dracula project, getting the axe. It's you know, it feels like we mentioned before just that, you know, you get the you got to support these projects, you know, you got to, you know, speak up about these projects, you know, if you'd like, sir, you know, certain directors, certain movies, especially by women, you got to, you know, show the support and show and show the studios and executives or whoever, that these women can make incredible movies.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, I just looked up that statistic. And in 2021, female directors made up 17% of the of directors working on the top 250 grossing films in 2021, which is down from 18% and 2020. So, I mean, we can definitely do way better than

Jacob Davidson:

that. Oh, yeah. No, we definitely can and, and there are plenty of great and great horror movies by women like, even this year, you know, just like just thinking back about it. Especially on streaming. I feel like a lot of women have been able to find opportunities for streaming services, because let's see, you got Fresh, directed by Mimi Cave that came out on Hulu, and you got Master by Mariama Diallo that came out on Prime Video. So, you know, it's, it has been interesting, just kind of how the media landscape has also had an effect on that in that regard. But, you know, but particularly theatrical, though women deserve. You know, there's plenty of women who deserve to direct theatrical movies.

James Jay Edwards:

Well, this year, the Oscar winner for Best Picture Coda was directed by a woman, and the one that everybody thought was going to win The Power of the Dog was also directed by a woman. So I mean, it's clear that you know that the women filmmakers are out there doing quality work. It's just, you know, I'm not sure why. How expensive could Karyn Kusama's Dracula have been where they shelled it? I, that's what's so distressing about it is, you know, maybe they just figured out we don't need another Dracula movie, not, you know, taking into consideration that it's going to be a different take on it. Who are some female filmmakers that you guys want to see more from? I can name two right off top my head. One is Jennifer Kent, from the The Nightingale and The Babadook. And the other is Lynn Ramsay, who did We Need to Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here. I love the movies of both of them. And anything that they make, I'm gonna watch. And

Jonathan Correia:

it's and it's interesting that you bring up those two as an example because they are notorious for coming out with a movie maybe every 10 years. Yes.

James Jay Edwards:

That's that's the thing. We don't see enough from these two. Yeah,

Jonathan Correia:

yeah. And the and I've seen a couple of interviews with them on the reasons behind that sometimes. And a lot of it is external, you know, and just like, not getting the funding not gonna get out there. And so yeah, I would 100% love to see more from them. They're both phenomenal filmmakers, both in their own rights. And, man they do. They can make some really brutal cinema. Issa Lopez, who did Tigers Are Not Afraid. She signed on for a few upcoming projects, including, I guess a werewolf project is something that she's attached to. But I think I believe she signed a deal with Blumhouse so I'm very excited that she's getting funding and is going forward with a lot of that because Tigers Are Not Afraid it was one of my favorite films of that year and it's a gorgeous piece of cinema.

Jacob Davidson:

Like I mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Chloe Okuno and very excited for when Watcher gets a main release this You're so very, very interested in seeing what she does after that, I don't know but either way I've definitely supported but yeah, I also would love to see what Leigh Janiak does you know after now that she's done the Fear Street trilogy because I loved all three of those movies. And yeah, just it's it's like a lot of this is you know all these directors did really great jobs and showed a lot of promise. So you just want to see what they do next.

James Jay Edwards:

I can't wait to see what Rose Glass does next after Saint Maud because I'm afraid that that she's going to turn into one of those. Lynn Ramsey, Jennifer Kent's where like we see a movie, like every six or seven years, you know? Which will be a shame because I mean, Saint Maud definitely left me wanting more. Didn't Jason Blum get in trouble for some comments he made about female filmmakers, or?

Jacob Davidson:

Uh, yeah, there was there was something about that A was that a couple of years ago,

James Jay Edwards:

he said something about how there aren't any women filmmakers doing horror. And then of course, the internet corrected him or it was something like that, where he just said, the reason you don't see any horror movies by female directors is that female directors aren't doing horror. It's like, Excuse me. He said it was something like that. Yeah. So I'm glad that he's I'm glad that he's, he's getting behind it now with blunt with.

Jonathan Correia:

That's a rough statement, especially coming from someone who produced a few horror films directed by women like Black Christmas, especially, which was so focused

James Jay Edwards:

I think he did backtrack on it shortly on it. after he said it. He's like, Oh, look, you know, that's not exactly what I meant. And you know, I shouldn't have said that. You know, I think he did. Yeah, he did kind of walk back the comments.

Jonathan Correia:

Well, how we can really make up for it is by getting more qualified, awesome female directors behind the camera making great horror making great films. And, I mean, there's some like there's so many great examples. Nia DaCosta did an absolutely fantastic job and Candyman and she's a she's a black female director, which is even rarer.

James Jay Edwards:

I'm really excited to see what she does next. Yeah,

Jonathan Correia:

I yeah, I want to Well, she's doing The Marvels next which is awesome. Because she has on the record said that she wanted to make films that are fun films that you know, aren't just about suffering and whatnot which as great as Candyman is that's, that's at its core is a film of of, of suffering.

James Jay Edwards:

And actually let you let you bring that up the winner of last year's Oscar Nomadland was directed by a woman too

Jonathan Correia:

which was the first time since Hurt Locker.

James Jay Edwards:

I may be Yeah, but you but when you brought up the Marvel's because Chloe's Zhao did The Eternals. Yeah. So yeah, that's so women, the quality women filmmakers are out there, they just, they need a shot.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah. And that's what it is, you can have the best idea ever, and you can put together the perfect pitch deck. But if someone doesn't fund it, it doesn't get made. It's a very, very hard process overall, getting anything made.

Jacob Davidson:

Definitely. It's a tough environment out there.

Jonathan Correia:

But there, there's always hope. There's some really great films coming out there. There's some really great talent, there's seems to be another shift in possible distribution. I mean, I don't know if it's just because I'm always hopeful that the mid budget film is going to come back. But there's a lot of really great examples of that happening. I know. I don't I don't think I crapped on Ambulance that hard earlier. And I hope I didn't because I genuinely did have a lot of fun with that movie. More I had more pros than cons with it. But I'm sorry,

James Jay Edwards:

I I'm I'm on Team Jacob with how you say an Ambulance.

Jonathan Correia:

Ambulance

James Jay Edwards:

I believe At Ambulance

Jonathan Correia:

Ambulance

James Jay Edwards:

I believe the word should be in your Ambulance.

Jonathan Correia:

Ambulance. So. But that was a mid budget film from a from a very big budget directing director, you know, man, of course, Michael Bay, but I was I was really rooting for that to do well, because I want the return of the mid budget film like why what like it's either like we make it for like$5 million, or $500 million, there has to be that middle ground. And with that middle ground, there's more, I wouldn't want to say there's less risk because there's always risk when you're putting money into something that may not get its money back. But with the mid budget there, there's less interference. There's less cooks in the kitchen because there's less money involved with it. And I just really want to see far more films, not just in horror, just any genre being directed by women and women of color. Especially like in driving that nice middle ground budget wise where they have control but they also have the money to do it. And yeah, that's really what I want in this world is just more perspectives, more colors, or more, more perspectives and more stories that come out of those because, you know, it gets it gets boring hearing the same story over and over and over again. I'm, you know, I'm tired of seeing all the Luke Skywalker is out there, that generic story that we keep getting sold and putting so much money into like how many movies are just like carbon copies of that same old hero's journey, that we just keep getting fed over and over again, like, it's nice to have something different. And it's nice to explore different storylines, and lives. And that's what makes the world richer. We say it all the time. How boring would it be if every movie was made for us?

Jacob Davidson:

That's true. It's very true. Yeah. And again, you know, it's also a matter of supporting upcoming movies that you want to see more of in from filmmakers you want to see more of, and definitely, with the advent of social media, you know, like kind of outspoken support helps, which is why, you know, you see a lot of filmmakers, you know, practically begging people to be like, if you've seen the movie, please tweet about it. Talk about it letterboxd it. So, you know, he's just got you got to go up to bat if you really want to see more from certain directors and filmmakers. And yeah, I mean, I've already been kind of making a list of upcoming horror movies and stuff I'd love to see and I definitely want to talk about that. And

Jonathan Correia:

Oh, definitely. I'm super excited for Hatch. Hatchling. Or hat. Sorry, not hatchling hat to Hatching? Yeah. By Hannah. Hannah Berg home. Oh, yeah. I saw the trailer for that. I have no idea what's going on in that movie. But I am so excited. That's that's one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, and I'm pretty excited for Bring It On Cheer or Die. Because I just love it when a franchise gets turned into a horror movie. And this one also has a pretty good crew behind it. Because I mean, I don't really know much else about the movie, but it's Directed by Karen lamb and it was written by Alison Fouse Rebecca McKendree and Dana Schwartz. So yeah, just great. Great team and Aman it's Bring It On turning into a slasher movie was what's not to love,

Jonathan Correia:

which should have happened with that franchise much sooner because I have seen a good portion of the Bring It On franchise. And it definitely ran out of steam by you know, worldwide cheered, or I think it was the fourth or fifth one. But man like what what a perfect setting for a horror film. And like, yeah, I was wondering who was going to

bring up Bring It On:

Cheer or Die because I was definitely waiting to bring them on. Yeah, is I am very excited for that movie.

Jacob Davidson:

Oh, yeah. No, that's gonna be fun. And speaking of also excited for Rebecca Kendry's other movie coming up this year Glorious with JK Simmons and Ryan Kuantan. Again, don't know much about it, but it's sounds pretty weird. And you know, and Rebecca is such a great filmmaker and horror scholar and Ghana. I want to and I want to support the work and I want to check it out.

James Jay Edwards:

You know what I just, I just found here and I wonder if this has anything to do if Karyn Kusama's Dracula being cancelled? Chloe Zhao is supposedly developing Dracula for universal. Hmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with why they pulled the plug on Karyn Kusama's

Jonathan Correia:

weird. I do believe I heard that. That's one of the ones working because then you also got Renfield which is supposed to be the dark comedy with Nick Cage's Dracula, and then a few others.

James Jay Edwards:

Robert Eggers is supposedly doing Nosferatu.

Jacob Davidson:

I think they got shelved

James Jay Edwards:

it's been shelved and restarted a few times. But yeah, I think right now it's on the shelf. He's been trying

Jonathan Correia:

to like I remember when that was going to be his second film. Yeah, and because I remember going you made a really great first film, they're Eggers, but that's a lot of hubris to tackle Nosferatu as your second as just like a pitcher which like I was here for I was I was definitely gonna watch like, watch the hell out of it. But another film that's coming out later this year, that I'm very excited for that female directed is Piggy. by Carl yeah Carlota per day. Per dia.

Jacob Davidson:

Pereda

Jonathan Correia:

Pereda I'm terrible with names My apologies, folks. They just looks like a very interesting film, something that I haven't really seen before. But you know, love it looks to be one that fits that difference perspective. You know, it's it's Spanish film shot in Spain. And it just looks like another like really weird movie that's just right up my alley.

Jacob Davidson:

I actually I saw it at Sundance, and it was it was great. I loved it.

Jonathan Correia:

Oh you saw it already?

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, I saw through the Sundance virtual fest, and yeah, it was really good is deaf, it is an interesting kind of slasher, from, you know, like the like, it's from the perspective of the unpopular girl in the village and she's constantly bullied by the popular girls. And she's fat shamed and, you know, kind of deals with that type of bad type of small town life and this and this killer on the loose. Very interested to get a lot of people's perspectives on it once it gets a full release, but I really liked it and can't wait see more work from Carlota Pereda.

Jonathan Correia:

And don't forget folks, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched the three hour full core film was directed by Kier-La Janisse and that is on Shudder right now and is 1,000% worth a watch as well. Shudder, I'm going to bring it back to Shudder because their section under their horror 101 directed by women has 35 titles under they're all are noteworthy to watch, including the original Slumber Party Massacre trilogy. They don't have the fourth one on there yet, but hopefully sometime soon, but it is available on Blu ray. So complete the agility folks.

James Jay Edwards:

So the TLDR of this episode is support your female filmmakers.

Jacob Davidson:

Yep, yes, yeah, talk about it paid money for their movies. Spread the word. Write good letterbox reviews if you really liked the movie, all that type of stuff.

James Jay Edwards:

Quick Shout outs to to female filmmakers we haven't mentioned yet. Axl Carolyn. Brea Grant. Who else? We got?

Jonathan Correia:

Marry Lambert.

Jacob Davidson:

Lee Anne Kurr, Student Body.

James Jay Edwards:

Chelsea Stardust

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah.

Jacob Davidson:

Oh, yeah. Chelsea Stardust. Let's see. Ama Lea who also directed the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.

James Jay Edwards:

Are you allowed to say that yet?

Jacob Davidson:

Yeah, yeah, that was announced that was announced.

Jonathan Correia:

Yeah, so And don't forget folks, the Ama Lea directed are produced and directed the Chainsaw Awards for Fangoria, that's going to Shudder on May 15. And keep keep an eye out and you might you will hear some familiar voices but you might see some faces that actually they're not familiar because this is not a visual medium. Why do we always run into that issue?

James Jay Edwards:

sharp eye viewers will might might might recognize you guys from I don't know from pictures.

Jacob Davidson:

No, you'll see they'll see. But yeah, always good time. And they congrats again to Ama for directing the show. And also wanted to do a big shout out to Prano Bailey-Bond who directed Censor, which was my favorite movie of 2021. Yeah, very excited to see what she does next.

James Jay Edwards:

And we didn't mention Julia Ducournau by name, but we did bring up Titane. But yeah, oh, yeah. Yeah, Titane, and is it Titane or Titan?

Jacob Davidson:

Titane. The French word for a titanium.

James Jay Edwards:

Okay. That's what I've been saying. But other people have said it's Titan. Like, no, I think it's Titane. Anyway. Yeah, she did she Titane and Raw. So it's whatever, you know, and I think the future for her is pretty bright after winning the poem. So she, I don't think she'll have any trouble getting any movie she wants to get made

Jonathan Correia:

made. But again, it was that was too long of a gap between Raw and Titane. Yeah. Yeah, it was Marry Harron as well. I just want to give a shout out American Psycho. Of course, the Betty Paige picture she did. I even had some a lot of fun with The Moth Diary. So yeah. Oh, and I Shot Andy Warhol. Oh my god, I almost forgot to mention that.

James Jay Edwards:

Cool. Well, if we missed your favorite female filmmaker, or if you are a female filmmaker, we missed. Give us a shout out, let us know that we missed you. And we'll and we'll give you a shout out because that's what we're about.

Jonathan Correia:

What more than that if you're a female director and you have an upcoming project hit us up. We'd love to have you on. We'd love to help promote the shit out as much as we can.

James Jay Edwards:

Absolutely. Our theme music is by Restless Spirits. So go give them a listen. And our artwork is by Chris Fisher. So go give him a look. You can find us pretty much anywhere. The Eye On Horror socials pretty much anywhere that's anywhere we're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, you can find us all iHorror.com And yeah, go check out iHorror.com Anyway, because there's plenty of Plenty to read there.

Jonathan Correia:

And and don't forget to check out iHorror Because Bree and Kelly are there and they do some great end of year focus lists on female directed horror films throughout the year especially Bree. Check out their podcast Murmurs From the Morgue, where they dissect and talk about these films a lot as well.

James Jay Edwards:

All right, and let us know your favorite female filmmakers, even if we have talked about them. Let's talk about them some more. And we will see you in a couple of weeks. So for me, James Jay Edwards.

Jacob Davidson:

I'm Jacob Davison,

Jonathan Correia:

I'm Jonathan Correia.

James Jay Edwards:

Keep your Eye On Horror.

Intros
Jay Reviews The Northman
Correia Reviews Wyrmwood: Apocalypse
Jacob Reviews Dual
Correia Reviews Ambulance, But He Pronounces It Weird. We Are So Sorry About That.....
Jay and Jacob Review Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Jacob Talks About George A. Romero's Jacaranda Joe, A Sasquatch Proof Of Concept
Jay Reviews Choose Or Die
The Need For More Female Directors, Horror Edition
We Are Really Excited About Bring It On: Cheer Or Die
Outros and Restless Spirits New Album in the Works