Kayte, Mae and our guest Rocco are in our shiny tendon suits and, uh-oh, we're in the nightmare mind of Vincent D'Onofrio? That's right, we are talking about Tarsem Singh's surrealist psychological horrror, The Cell. We talk about the lost art of music videos, Jennifer Lopez's unique empathetic heroism and unreal animation vs AI. Where to find Rocco: The LadyKillers Podcast Read Rocco's Reviews! Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

Then we'll all sing together, Society waits for you... This week on Tender Subject, it's finally time for the shunt! Kayte, Dave and our guest, comedian Gabe Pacheco, talk about Brian Yuzna's gooey satirical horror film Society (1989). We talk about Bodies without Organs, capitalism, Luigi Mangione and the possibilities of a Communist shunt. Media referenced: Some good podcasts to get started on Deleuze and Guattari's concept of the Body without organs: Theory & Philosophy Acid Communism Overthink Splatter Capital by Mark Stevens Gabe is the co-host of Halal Cartels. Go see Gabe perform by following him here and here! Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

This week on Tender Subject, Kayte and Jay are joined by Ash from Horror Vanguard to talk about Alison Rumfitt’s brutal novel Tell Me I’m Worthless. We talk about haunted houses, bodies and territories plus TERFs, RadFems and looming Fascism.

Media referenced: ”Battlefield Exctacies” by Sophie Lewis, The Point Magazine.

Capitalism: A Horror Story by Jon Greenaway, Repeater Books.

Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook by Mark Bray, Melville House Publishing

Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk!

Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

Who's hungry? As you travel this week to your own Blood Feasts, we're taking another bite of an old favorite episode!

Kayte and Jay are joined by noted Herschell Gordon Lewis expert LaborKyle to talk about the film Blood Feast (1963). In doing so, we summon Ishtar (which means we talk about all sorts of stuff like treating your artistic work as work, how Victorians ate mummies, and the warm piss stream of Marxism).

You can find LaborKyle on places like YouTube, Patreon, Twitter, and Bluesky! He also co-host the podcasts All Gamers Are Bastards (AGAB) and Horror Vanguard!

Media Mentioned:

Arendt, Hannah, ed. 2007. “Theses on the Philosophy of History.” In Illuminations, by Walter Benjamin, translated by Harry Zohn, 253–64. New York: Schocken Books. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm.

Chris, Jason, and Kevin. 2023. “Bathing in the Warm Stream: The Romantic and Gothic Strain of Marxism with Jon (TheLitCritGuy) of Horror Vanguard.” The Regrettable Century. https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/13227904-bathing-in-the-warm-stream-the-romantic-and-gothic-strain-of-marxism-with-jon-thelitcritguy-of-horror-vanguard.

Cohen, Margaret. 1995. Profane Illumination: Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution. Weimar and Now. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Steven, Mark. 2017. Splatter Capital: The Political Economy of Gore Films. London: Repeater Books, an imprint of Watkins Media Ltd.

Oh, and we have a discord! https://discord.gg/RsxRZ3TA9

Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod

We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social

Art by Anya R. Hueing

Music by @coffin_flops

This week, Kayte and Mae are joined by writer and professor Jo Isaacson to dissect the polarizing new body horror film by Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE! We dig really deep, and discuss camp, old Hollywood and hagsploitation, Marxist alienation, unboxing videos and giving birth to a new beautiful monster. Sources mentioned:

The Monstrous Feminine and The Return to the Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed

”Whatever Happened to Monstro Elisasue: In Defense of Psycho-Biddies in the Substance and Beyond” Jo Isaacson, Blindfield Journal

“The Guardian View on Female Led Horror: Time For a New Formula”, editorial, The Guardian

Where to find Jo:

@StepfordDotter on Twitter

Stepford Daughters book

Facebook horror group

Blind Field Journal

Mae is also a co-host on The Ladykillers Podcast and makes music at eversonpoe Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here

This week on Tender Subject, Kayte, Jay and Dave have cooked up a feast of an episode on the demon barber himself, Sweeney Todd! Join us as we sink our teeth into the movie, the play, the sets, the songs and lots and lots of blood.

Media referenced:

“Is That Just Disgusting?" Mapping the Social Geographies of Filth and Madness in "Sweeney Todd" by Aleksei Grinenko link here

Six by Sondheim

Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk!

Dave is also a co-host on Genre Reveal Party and hosts This is Your Afterlife Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!

In honor of Texas Chainsaw's 50th anniversary and Jo's Post45 cluster (Kayte's collage is in it!) we are re-publishing our TCM episode. Enjoy!

Did somebody order head cheese? If you did, you're in luck! This week, we're joined by Johanna Isaacson, author of Stepford Daughters: Weapons for Feminists in Contemporary Horror, to talk about the one, the only, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre! We ask the important questions, such as, "does Leatherface represent feminized labor?" and "is Leatherface trapped in an MLM?"

(We worry about Leatherface's wellbeing a lot.)

Readings:

“Blood for Oil,” Chuck Jackson

Men, Women, and Chain Saws, Carol Clover

Splatter Capital, Mark Steven

“The American Nightmare,” Robin Wood

“Cannibalism, Class, and Power: A foodways analysis of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Mark Bernard

“Horrible Form,” Evan Calder Williams

“Headcheese and a Side of Benjamin,” Jerry D Metz

“Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” Linda Williams

Jo’s links:

Twitter handle @StepfordDotter

Stepford Daughters link

Facebook horror group

Blind Field Journal

Precarious Souls (a super DIY movie they're making with friends)

Follow us on Twitter @tender_subject and on Instagram @tendersubjectpod

We're also on Bluesky @tendersubject.bsky.social

Art by Anya R. Hueing

Music by @coffin_flops

Jay and Kayte are joined by Carlee from Hit Factory podcast to talk about a movie near and dear to all of our hearts, Julie Taymor's brutal and gorgeous Shakespeare adaptation, Titus (1999). We discuss intentional anachronisms, faithfulness to texts, how Victorians tried to re-brand Shakespeare (and the Classical Era!) and heroes and villains. This is an incredible movie that we all love so much but it's hard to find so please enlist your tech-savvy friends! (big wink) Media referenced: David Sterling Brown talks about Aaron and Black Lives Matter Dr. Mia Escott discusses Aaron and Race on Shakespeare Anyone? The making of Titus on Youtube Where to find Carlee: Co-hosting Hit Factory podcast Writing essays about sex in film

Jay is also a co-host on Library Punk! Kayte is also a co-host on Fangs for the Memories and makes art here!