SLAY WHAT? Locals Bri Vodvarka and Ariel Wisniewski, pictured, have taken their passion for horror film to the mic. (Photos via Stranghavens.com)

After countless movie viewings and long conversations, co-hosts and Chippewa Valley locals Bri Vodvarka and Ariel Wisniewski decided it was time to broadcast their passion. On their new podcast, Slay What?, the duo discusses their horror movie takes, dissecting the genre through a queer and feminist lens.

“All we did when we first met was watch horror movies and have super long discussions about them,” Bri and Ariel said. “We always joked that all we talk about is horror.”

That joke eventually became a bonafide project when Bri sent Ariel a logo she'd made, and a message: “Look what I did! We’re doing it.”

Rooted in a shared love for prolific horror novelist Stephen King, their relationship with horror was love at first fright. Bri’s obsession began when her cousins made her watch IT. Ariel’s, on the other hand, was inherited from her mom’s love for the author. 

But Slay What? isn’t just about fandom – it’s about filling a gap in horror discourse.

“For a long time, feminist and queer perspectives were underrepresented. There weren’t many female directors or feminist takes on anything horror related,” the duo said.

With female and queer directors becoming more prominent, Bri and Ariel recognized more people are actively viewing horror films from a feminist and queer lens. “For example, Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge wasn’t created from a queer lens but now we are viewing it that way," they said.

“There are so many women and queer people in the horror community who want to hear it from that lens. We don’t want it to be only takes from white cis men. We, as queer people and women, deserve to be heard. It’s about time.”

They also aren’t afraid to critique the genre’s flaws, especially around gender and sexuality. Still, they believe in horror’s power to reveal deeper, personal truths. Bri and Ariel shared they do not necessarily find the violence often depicted against women and the queer community in horror movies uncomfortable. It is almost better, they said, to see it on a screen than in real life.

“Violent crimes statistically are committed the most against queers and women. It’s safer and more comforting to be watching it rather than experiencing it," Bri and Ariel said.

They gravitate toward body horror for its potential to reflect queer and feminist anxieties, but are frustrated by tropes – like the “sex leads to death" trope, especially when applied to women – they said.

Though the podcast is just five episodes in, Bri and Ariel have big dreams for its future, and hope to interview horror icons in the future. “We, as two horror-obsessed women, are trying to just experience more horror.”

Produced by Stranghavens, a local queer production company, new episodes of Slay What? drop every other Wednesday. So, mark your calendars, because horror has always been queer. It’s just time someone said it into a mic.

Listen and keep up with the Slay What? podcast on Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram.