Episode 23: Zena Dixon Summons ‘Dead Mary’

By Matthew Monagle

12:18 PM CDT on September 2, 2020

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Behold, the untapped potential of the 2000s direct-to-video market. Like the current landscape of streaming releases, the direct-to-video market of old offered viewers a potential goldmine of underseen and underappreciated releases. You may have to dig - and dig, and dig, and dig - but true horror fans know that any amount of dumpster-diving is worth that one unearthed gem.

In this episode of Certified Forgotten, the Matts are joined by Zena Dixon - aka The Real Queen of Horror - to discuss Dead Mary, a 2007 direct-to-video release from director Robert Wilson. With elements of both The Thing and Evil Dead, Dead Mary shows what happens when you take a handful of strained adult relationships and throw an evil witch into the mix.

Join us for a spirited conversation on the horror genre, as Zena opens up about her own experiences as a horror fan and explains the drive behind "Being Enough in the Horror Industry," her standout video from June that laid bare some of the racism she's experienced as a video creator and horror fan.

You can stream Dead Mary on Amazon or Tubi. Check out the rest of our podcast episodes on our Podcasts page.

CF Recommends

CultPOP! Podcast

Join Alice, JD, and Noel each week as they dive headfirst into popular culture.

Subscribe on YouTube →

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Matthew Monagle

Matthew is a Philadelphia-based film critic and the co-founder of Certified Forgotten. You can find his writing at publications like Inverse, Polygon, IGN, and more. When not writing about horror movies, he can often be found obsessing over horror comics or roleplaying games.