Horror Octorbor keeps a-chuggin’ along this month, as we continue to break down the seven deadly sins! This week, we take a look at Envy in the context of 1992’s erotic psychological thriller Single White Female!
In the vein of other 90s domestic horror films like The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and Unlawful Entry, Single White Female explores the kind of dangers that could happen even in the safety of your home. Here, that’s manifested in Hedy (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the mousy new roommate of recently-separated fashion designer Allie (Bridget Fonda). The more time Hedy spends with Allie, though, the more she affects Allie’s speech, mannerisms and appearance – right down to making moves on her estranged husband Sam (Steven Weber).
Does she want to be like Allie? Does she want to become Allie? The answers are surprisingly grotesque, and more than a little complicated – rooted in some clumsy, but well-intentioned, queer subtexts and a couple of deliciously arch performances from Fonda and Leigh, directed with a certain lurid sensibility by Barbet Schroeder.
Check out what we thought about this ominous tale of female sexuality and psychological desire, along with our custom drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Overcast as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
DRINKING RULES FOR SINGLE WHITE FEMALE:
- Any time you see a red flag (Hedy adopts another Allie-ism)
- Every time you see a scene outside the apartment
- Whenever you see nudity (this is an *erotic* thriller, after all)
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Hedy looks into a mirror and says, “I love myself like this.”
Join us next week as we conclude our Seven Deadly Sins edition of Horror Octorbor with Greed – best personified by Michael Mann’s bat-nuts crazy 1983 film The Keep!
