Girl, That’s Scary Enters ‘The Void’ On Their Recent Episode [Dread Pod Picks]
Welcome to Dread Pod Picks, a new weekly column spotlighting the freshest episodes from across the Dread Central Podcast Network. This week’s pick is Girl, That’s Scary with their recent review ep that’s all about The Void (2016).
If you enjoy podcasts fueled by friendship, encyclopedic genre knowledge, and easy, breezy, witty banter, then Girl, That’s Scary is a podcast for you. Each and every week, hosts Kat and Jazz discuss a horror or sci-fi film in their signature style, skating effortlessly between sharp analysis and authentic, casual conversation. It’s the type of podcast that conjures up feelings of an old-school basement movie night with friends, while blowing your mind with thoughtful insights and information.
For this show, Kat and Jazz pop Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie’s 2016 film The Void into the player. With Kostanski perhaps more widely known for directing and effects work on films like Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako, In a Violent Nature, and the upcoming Deathstalker, Kat and Jazz lovingly shine a light on this underseen piece of earlier work. Part cosmic horror madness, part creepy cult showdown, The Void is a divisive piece of work that seems to gain fans and haters in equal measure. And don’t worry, the girls get into all that.
The Void opens with a brutal, bloody affair that bleeds into a nightmarish rural hospital when patrolman Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) brings in a delirious, wounded stranger. What begins as a tense shift with Daniel’s estranged wife, Allison (Kathleen Munroe), intern Kim (Ellen Wong), and Dr. Powell (Kenneth Welsh) on hand, soon unravels into something else. Adding mystery to injury, a bevy of hooded cult-ish figures surrounds the building. Before long, mutated creatures and reality-warping visions permeate the interior. As horrific experiments and violent secrets come to light, the hospital’s corridors fracture into ritual spaces, leading to a desperate escape.
Mirroring the movie’s opening sequence, Jazz and Kat waste no time kicking off the conversation with admiration for The Void’s bold, cold open. They then follow the movie down a rabbit hole (or maybe, a hospital hall?) that leads to cultists, goo, and Kostanski’s incredible “spaghetti-monster” practical effects. While trading rapid-fire takes and endearingly finishing each other’s sentences, the conversation revels in the tactile artistry on display.
Drawing comparisons to Lucio Fulci and Baskin (2015), their praise isn’t as simple as nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. A sound argument is made that it is these effects and the movie’s narrative ambiguity that inject the film with a physical dread that lingers in the back of your mind…and throat. While discussing The Void’s initial and current reception, both hosts argue that it is the movie’s willingness to fragment and escalate into pure cosmic disorientation that gives it power. In short, don’t let Hollywood fool you into thinking every movie needs to hold your hand or reveal all of its secrets.
If you’re into cosmic dread, practical effects, or horror that rewards repeat viewings, this episode is a tidy little masterclass on what makes The Void great, wrapped in best-friend energy. And, of course, Kat and Jazz provide plenty of laughs. Even when genuinely grossed out by what Kostanski delivers, the hosts’ rapport makes even the film’s nastiest beats feel like something that needs to be shared. You can catch Girl, That’s Scary’s take on The Void now, wherever you get podcasts. New episodes drop every Thursday!
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