“I don’t care. You’re my son. You’ll always be my son. Whoever you are.”
“Disturbing”, “shocking” and “thrilling” were just some of the words critics used to describe French director Julia Ducournau’s 2021 sophomore feature Titane. Agathe Rousselle is Alexia, showgirl and serial killer with a titanium plate in her head as a result of a childhood car accident. But her life-saving operation has left her with something unexpected: a romantic predilection for motor vehicles. Following a sexual encounter with a car and a string of gruesome murders, Alexia finds herself both pregnant with a mysterious metallic life-form and on the run from the authorities. Taking on a new identity as the missing son of an ageing fire captain, Alexia – or 'Adrien', if you will – must attempt to conceal her pregnancy as she camouflages into a new life. Taking its cues from Cronenberg in more ways than one, Titane is a wince-inducing body horror and the first in a brief series of stand-alone episodes examining popular horror films from recent years. In an attempt to unpackage Titane's complex and unruly narrative, Nick and Johanna explore and discuss the film’s take on gender, the human body, and the meaning of family,
