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“Burn anything you’re afraid of. Burn anything you can’t control.”

When we think of patriarchal systems of oppression, it’s usually men we find at the helm. The patriarchy itself is a model of societal control based on the heteronormative nuclear family. Its survival is dependent on men in positions of leadership bolstered by subservient women convinced to work against their own best interests. But the “fairer sex” is just as capable of orchestrating our own destruction. In fact, many women feed the patriarchy with a patented blend of religious fervor and fear-mongering wrapped in delicate grace and perpetual victimhood. Co-host Rocco Thompson may describe Christophe Gans’ Silent Hill as “Francis Bacon and Hieronymus Bosch having a fuckfest in Chernobyl,” but this slyly progressive film also reveals the dangers of blind allegiance to a matriarchy just as toxic as anything men could create. 

Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) may seem like a sweet and innocent little girl, but her dreams are dominated by memories of a traumatic past threatening to break through to the waking world. Her mother Rose (Radha Mitchell) takes her to the isolated ghost town Silent Hill, hoping to trigger memories that will help her move on. But they arrive to find a desolate hellscape filled with murderous mutants, reanimated corpses, and mines consumed by a never ending fire.

While searching for her now-missing daughter, Rose is alternately helped and hindered by Cybil (Laurie Holden), a no-nonsense cop dedicated to protecting children from this unforgiving world. But lurking amidst the zombified nurses, humanoid cockroaches, and polygonal warriors lies an even more deadly threat. Christabella (Alice Krige) serves as an ostensibly benevolent Mother to the town’s survivors, but maintains her control by vilifying women. Unlikely allies, Rose and Cybil must traverse this nightmare world and discover the true source of the town’s destruction.

In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s the Lady Killers podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Sammie Kuykendall, Rocco Thompson, and Mae Shults make their way through the ashy mist and take the elevator all the way down to the truth of this toxic matriarchy. Why is Sharon pulled back to this spooky ghost town? How does Christabella control her flock? Why does Alessa spare her mother’s life and do we care about the story’s men? 

Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.

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