✰❀ issue two.

Episode 2: Zombie Ants + Indie Publis... issue three.

✰❀ issue two.

The most beautiful part of your body

is where it’s headed. & remember,

loneliness is still time spent

with the world.

—Ocean Vuong, “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong”

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Hello again! It is unseasonably warm in Austin, the juniper trees have a personal vendetta against me, and my cats are still perfect.

Rosemary (left) and Basil (right)Podcast updates

The second episode of Splendor Falls is out! As usual, you can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or right here on Substack.

If you like what you’ve heard so far, don’t forget to rate and review Splendor Falls on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! It makes a big difference for visibility, and small creators need everything we can get.

The continued bombardment of juniper pollen in Central Texas this season has delayed my recording, so the third episode of Splendor Falls will be out in January 2024. It’ll be another essay about fiction. But this time, I’ll specifically be using TV shows and films as highlight texts to talk about the way film and TV portray children undergoing grief. I’m especially excited for this episode, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!

2023 Horror Films That Live Rent-Free in My Head

While we’re talking movies, there are three 2023 horror releases that have stayed on my mind long after watching. Most of the time, it wasn’t necessarily because I enjoyed the films personally. Here’s what exactly made me keep thinking about them.

Beau Is Afraid (dir. Ari Aster)

This was one of my most anticipated films of 2023. I watched Midsommar and Hereditary the two nights before I saw Beau Is Afraid, almost in preparation for the gorgeous terrors I awaited from Ari Aster’s next project.

Beau is Afraid did give the gorgeous terrors and visually stunning sequences I love so much about this director’s work. The use of animation was breathtaking. And the believable dread in Joaquin Phoenix’s performance gives the film another one of its biggest strengths.

But unlike Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau is Afraid disappointed me with its script. Its so-called reversal of the monomyth looked more like a promising first act that meandered into an unsatisfying conclusion. The stakes were always so high that they began to mean nothing at all. I kept thinking about this film long after I watched it because of how much the script disappointed me, especially in a film that has so many other elements worthy of praise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s (dir. Emma Tammi)

I truly did not expect to gain anything from this film. I only have peripheral knowledge of the video game series it’s based on. I saw the film in theaters for the sake of a social outing. And yet, I don’t regret it!

For the most part, this is just another kid’s movie. But despite the formulaic script and simple plot, I think it is a very important kid’s movie purely because it’s a kid’s horror movie.

With its PG-13 rating, Five Nights at Freddy’s fills a niche that desperately needs to be filled: horror movies targeted at kid audiences. And for that reason, I am so glad it exists. This film was not made for the twenty-somethings who have been playing the source video games since the first one came out. This film was made for the games’ newer, younger wave of fans. It was made for every kindergarten student who used to come to my class wearing a Five Nights at Freddy’s backpack and info-dumping everything they know about the game to me. So many kids love horror! And I’m glad they’re getting horror movies made specifically for them.

Birth/Rebirth (dir. Laura Moss)

I’d been looking forward to Birth/Rebirth ever since I read an IndieWire listicle about up-and-coming LGBTQ directors that featured Laura Moss. I was instantly fascinated by the concept of a Frankenstein retelling where the “artificial” creation of life comes from a perversion of conception—especially at the oversight of a non-binary director. I had high expectations for those thematic elements in particular, and I was not disappointed.

I adore this film. The core themes regarding pregnancy, motherhood, and the drive for human connection carried enough relatable complexity to turn the film’s corresponding horror elements into harrowing sequences that made me nauseous in the way that only the best horror stories can. The sparse, anguished vocals that primarily comprised the soundtrack aided the script in building and maintaining tension throughout the whole film. Whether or not there was gore onscreen, so much of this film can best be described as gross—a well-done, satifsying sort of gross. I watch more horror movies than anything else, and I can still say that Birth/Rebirth is one of the grossest movies I have ever seen.

Although I loved it, it’s a hard one to recommend purely because its horror elements play on real-world anxieties about reproductive health and motherhood. But if this list of content notes doesn’t turn you away, I urge you to watch Birth/Rebirth.

Thank you for listening to Splendor Falls, thank you for reading my writing, thank you for being here!

If you’d like to support my work, you’ll find out how to buy my novel or my prose chapbook after the next line break. If you’re in the Austin, Texas area, buy Solastella from a local bookseller! You can get it from BookPeople, Bookwoman, and Reverie Books.

If you don’t have the means to buy a book, spread the word! Telling other people about my writing and my podcast makes a big difference, even just by sharing my posts on social media. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Ratings and reviews also go a long way for podcasts, so leave a rating if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 🎔

Stay tuned for the third episode of Splendor Falls in the new year!

✧ daria deptuła