SHRINK CHAT: Revenge, Scare Me & Assassins, the Kim Jong-nam Murder

Why does a rape revenge film so rarely deliver the revenge, and what does Revenge (2017) get right?

Trigger warning: The Revenge discussion (about 11:55 to 23:40) covers sexual assault and victim blaming.

It’s Shrink Chat, our weekly horror roundup, and our first of November 2020. Our buddy watch is Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge on Shudder, then we review Scare Me with Aya Cash and Josh Ruben, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and Assassins, the true crime documentary about the airport murder of Kim Jong-nam. Plus Cathy’s Horror Facts lead to a 1990 Tim Burton classic, and a trip down the horror sneaker rabbit hole.

Therapists Shannon and Cathy talk about how Revenge uses the male gaze in its first act to make the audience complicit, how victim blaming lives in our own heads because it lives in our culture, why implied violence can be more frightening than gratuitous violence, and the shame of watching cringe comedy.

Covered in this episode:

• Revenge (2017), Coralie Fargeat and Matilda Lutz
• Scare Me (2020) with Aya Cash and Josh Ruben
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) and Maria Bakalova
• Assassins (2020), the murder of Kim Jong-nam, Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong
• Edward Scissorhands (1990), Johnny Depp and Caroline Thompson
• The Shed (2019) on Shudder
• Horror sneakers: the Reebok Alien Stomper, the Nike SB Dunk Freddy Krueger, the Reebok Chucky Ventilator and the ParaNorman Foamposite
• Ghost stories: send us yours

Clinical themes: the male gaze, victim blaming, survival response, implied versus gratuitous violence, vicarious shame, the rape revenge genre.

Related episodes:

• SHRINK CHAT: The House of the Devil, Ginger Snaps & Stingy Jack
• SHRINK CHAT: Hail to the Deadites, Theatre of Blood, Carrie & Haunt
• PSYCHOLOGY: The Cell, Jennifer Lopez & Inside a Serial Killer’s Mind

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Two licensed therapists, one forensic psychologist, one clinical LMFT, take apart the minds behind the crimes.

Until then... sleep safe. 😴
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