It's finally October! Kellie is serving up a horror buffet straight from Shudder’s vault. In this minisode, she counts down 31 Shudder Originals from the past decade, one for every night of the spookiest month of the year. Consider this your guide to streaming survival for the season. Grab your popcorn and stay spooky!

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In our inaugural Final Cats minisode, our claws are out for one of horror’s most beloved survivors: Jonesy, the orange tabby who prowls the Nostromo in Alien. While Ripley faces down the perfect organism, Jonesy earns his own place in Final Cat history by keeping calm in the face of interstellar terror. From his iconic hisses at the Xenomorph to his safe ride home in the escape pod, we unpack how Jonesy embodies survival, luck, and pure feline vibes.

Join us as we purr over his legendary status and celebrate the fluffiest member of the Alien franchise. Spoilers ahead for Alien (1979).

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Scream Things, prepare to sharpen your knives and grab your flashlights, because Final Girls is gearing up for Season Two just in time for spooky season! We're taking a few weeks to enjoy our favorite time of year with friends and family (and, of course, eat/drink all things pumpkin-flavored.) Dropping right before Halloween, our brand-new season of iconic Final Girls will come with fresh frights and plenty of blood-soaked analysis. Until then, stay spooky!

xoxo

Sarah and Kellie

This week, we’re heading to Isla Nublar to celebrate one of the most iconic women in sci-fi horror: Dr. Ellie Sattler. Played by Laura Dern, Ellie is more than just a paleobotanist, she’s a feminist force who critiques patriarchal hubris, outruns velociraptors, and rescues the boys when things go sideways.

We dig into the gender politics of Jurassic Park, including how Ellie’s intelligence and assertiveness challenge the male egos around her. We also talk about how the film’s all-female dinosaurs mirror the themes of control, reproduction, and nature fighting back, and how Ellie holds her own in a narrative obsessed with male legacy.

Spoiler warning: This episode contains spoilers for Jurassic Park, chaos theory tangents, and a whole lot of respect for women who know their way around a T-Rex paddock.

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This week, we’re spotlighting the one and only Emerald Haywood from Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022) — a Final Girl who rides in late, steals the scene, and never lets go of the spotlight. As Hollywood’s skies darken with something sinister, Em becomes the beating heart of a story about spectacle, survival, and sibling solidarity. We break down how Emerald flips expectations as a Final Girl: vibrant, flawed, funny, and fearless. We dig into the film’s themes of exploitation, visibility, and legacy. Emerald isn’t trying to be your hero; she’s trying to get the shot.

Spoiler warning: This episode contains major plot spoilers, alien theories, and Oprah shots.

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She came to detox. The forest had other plans. In Fede Álvarez’s brutal 2013 reimagining of Evil Dead, Mia isn’t just fighting addiction, she’s fighting off ancient demons and the literal fires of hell. This week, we’re joined by two incredible guests and friends, Matt from Getting Offed and Katie from ShElite Showcase, to dig into Mia’s Final Girl arc and all the blood-soaked symbolism it unleashes.

We dissect how Mia’s journey flips the possession trope on its head, reframes addiction through a horror lens, and leads to one of the most cathartic rebirths we’ve ever seen on screen (chainsaw included). Plus: how her arc does/does not echo Ash’s, why the gore works as metaphor, and survival lessons we definitely hope we never need to use.

Spoiler warning: This episode is raining blood and spoilers.

Getting Offed: Youtube Instagram Bluesky

ShElite Showcase: Youtube Instagram

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In Dangerous Animals (2025), Zephyr is a closed-off American surfer chasing freedom on the open Australian water, but when a shark diving boat operator picks her as his prey, she has to battle something far more sinister than what’s lurking beneath the surface. This week, we dive into Zephyr’s Final Girl arc from self-contained loner to reluctant warrior, and we unpack how the film delivers one of the most feral third-act fights and transformations we’ve seen in a long time.

Spoiler warning: This episode contains spoilers, gory details, and oceanic food-chain dread.

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This week, we're heading to Bodega Bay to talk about The Birds (1963) and our sharp-tongued, fur-coat-wearing Final Girl, Melanie Daniels. What begins as a flirty little prank quickly turns Hitchcockian nightmare when birds begin attacking violently, relentlessly, and without explanation. We dig into the gender politics of Melanie’s transformation from socialite to survivor, the icy dynamics between the women in Mitch’s life, and how the film weaponizes nature and femininity in equal measure. Is it horror? Is it camp? Is it a cautionary tale about chasing a man? Either way, Melanie earns her spot in the Final Girl canon.

Spoiler warning: We’re spoiling the plot, the pecking, and the psychological warfare. You've been warned.

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