‘You’re Next’ Serves Up One of Horror’s Strongest Final Girls [The Lady Killers Podcast]

Jenn and I have spent the first part of the month dissecting fictionalized adaptations of cults, including Jim Jones and Jonestown (listen), as well as Ti West’s The Sacrament (listen). Then we spent the last few weeks looking at David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (listen), which led to an infamous 51-day stand-off and accompanying siege on Waco.

The Paramount+ series was always going to be biased because it is based on two books written by men involved in the siege: cult survivor David Thibodeau’s A Place Called Waco, as well as Gary Noesner’s Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator. 

What frustrates, though, is how their stories wind up being given priority. In our discussion of the first half of the series (listen), Jenn and I hoped that the female “characters” – played by actors like Andrea Riseborough, Julia Garner, and Melissa Benoist – would be given more to do in the back half.

Instead, we were aghast to discover that the series not only continues to prioritize Koresh (Taylor Kitsch), Tibs (Rory Culkin) and Noesner (Michael Shannon), but that the women exist exclusively as pawns to highlight how tragic the outcome of Waco is.

It’s pretty gross..

Episode 14: Waco (2018) Episodes 4-6

Ready for the fiery finale? Jenn and Joe tackle episodes 4-6 of Paramount+s Waco, which wraps up the 51-day siege of the FBI on the Branch Davidian compound.

Up for discussion: extreme emotional manipulation, a lack of female stories, and who ultimately gets the blame

Plus: the show’s Libertarian agenda draws a big rant from both of us (and this was recorded *before* the election results!)

Next week: Jenn and I begin a two-month journey discussing fictionalized adaptations of one of America’s most prolific serial killers: Ted Bundy. We’re kicking things off with a primer on “Ted” and his crimes.

And if you want even more Murder Made Fiction, be sure to check out the pod’s Patreon feed, where we have ~21 hours of bonus content.

Episodes this month include episode-by-episode coverage of Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story as well as episodes on the Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers and a full-length primer explaining the case.