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GayCityNews.com | MARCH 24 - APRIL 7, 2022
Queer Irish film writer discusses the making of new folk horror movie
BY GARY M. KRAMER
Char (Hazel Doupe), the
protagonist of Irish queer
writer/director Kate Dolan’s
nifty slow-burn folk horror
film “You Are Not My Mother,” is a
troubled teen. Her home life is fraught
because her mom, Angela (Carolyn
Bracken), is depressed, and school is
not much better. While Char is smart
— she skipped a grade — she is mercilessly
bullied by her classmates. When
Angela disappears one morning after
dropping Char off at school, it is concerning.
But when she reappears not
that much later, it is perhaps even
more concerning: Angela has changed.
What is going on is slowl xy
revealed over the course of this atmospheric
film.
In a recent interview, Gay City News
chatted with Dolan about making “You
Are Not My Mother.”
What is the appeal of horror films
for queer viewers in general and lesbians
in particular?
As a queer person, you have a feeling
of otherness, or being on the fringe
— so not in the mainstream. There is a
draw to monsters. As a kid, I loved the
Universal monster movies, and there is
something you see of yourself in them.
You are kind of “the other” in a way.
Char is a bright teen who feels real
pressure in dealing with her family,
as well as from her peers. Can you
talk about creating her character?
The inspiration for the film came from
being a young person coming of age in a
family where you are forced to grow up
too soon. When you are that age, you
don’t have any escape; you are dependent
on those around you. It’s seeing
your parents for the first time in a way
unlike you’ve seen them before. They
are not infallible, or on a pedestal. It also
has to deal with having a parent who is
physically or mentally ill in a space like
that where you do not have much support.
I wanted to talk about how mental
health in a family affects someone coming
of age.
How did you conceive the narrative,
the horror elements, and
the various beats of the storyline?
The river scene, and Char’s mother
dancing, are creepy.
The atmosphere we wanted to create
was capturing a home environment
where you don’t feel safe or protected
and having to navigate that. The film
is inspired by an unstable parent, and
how that makes you feel, and how you
perceive them. That ambiguity informed
the genre beats — is it a mental
health problem, like bipolar, or something
else? The “genre” scenes came
from a place where they could they feel
real — unhinged behavior of a parent
who is unwell in some way — and real
behavior that would scare you.
Read more of the interview with Dolan
at GayCityNews.com.
MUSIC
BY STEVE ERICKSON
The last month has brought
more new music from LGBTQ
artists, including producer
Heavee and bands Guerilla
Toss and Hurray for the Riff Raff.
Heavee | “Audio Attack”
Influenced by house music, hip-hop
and drum’n’bass, the Chicago-based
footwork scene footwork uses complex
polyrhythms.
Queer footwork producer Heavee’s
new ep “Audio Attack” was conceived as
an imaginary video game soundtrack.
He uses woozy, ‘90s-inflected synth
patches that could’ve come from a Nintendo
score. But these songs and their
structure tell a story and set a mood,
even without lyrics. Rather than dominating
the mix, Heavee’s percussion
underpins other sounds. “Floor Burn”
samples a man saying “I think it’s time
to make the floor burn,” while “Watch
Yo’ Self (Feeling Myself)” does the same
with the phrase “feeling myself,” but
Heavee isolates individual words and
puts reverb and delay on them to make
them function as percussion.
Hurray for the Riff Raff | “Life on
Earth”
“Life on Earth” leaps from Hurray
for the Riff Raff’s early folk-influenced
music to a polished sound that often
looks back at ‘80s pop. As their major
label debut, it delivers the slick
production one might expect from the
move. But its desire to reach a larger
audience is politically purposeful. The
group’s queer singer/songwriter Alynda
Segarra, whose background is
Puerto Rican, calls the album “nature
punk.” Hurray for the Riff Raff also
has a trans member, Yosi Perlstein, according
to Newsweek.
“Life on Earth” is an ambitious attempt
to reckon both with climate
change, as its refrain of “life on Earth
is long” might not be a safe bet, and being
a Latinx person living in the US.
The album works on a big canvas
while capturing a perilous instability.
Guerilla Toss | “Famously Alive”
Speaking of instability, Guerilla Toss
brings back memories of that early
‘80s moment when rock bands saw the
virtues of mixing noise with elements
of dance music and pop.
The 2000s post-punk revival drew
heavy inspiration from that period, but
Guerilla Toss does so without copying
any specific bands. They’ve honed their
chaos down to a fine craft, exemplified
by the digital scuzz that begins and
runs through their songs. The videos
for “Cannibal Capital” and “Famously
Alive” pursue a particular look, part
‘80s VHS and part early YouTube. But
instead of offering easy nostalgia, they
detour into nightmarish directions.
“Famously Alive” revels in its contradictions,
using slick production to enhance
Guerilla Toss’ abrasiveness. It’s a
dizzying listen, flirting with unpleasantness
more than it rises above panic.
Hyperdub
Heavee.
Magnet Releasing
Hazel Doupe and Carolyn Bracken in “You Are Not My Mother.”
FILM
Q&A With “You Are Not My Mother” Director Kate Dolan
Queer Music: Heavee, Guerilla Toss, & Hurray for the Riff Raff
/GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
