The Bloody Judge for the 2026 Portland Horror Film Festival was Andrea Subissati, the Executive Editor of Rue Morgue. She is one of the most compelling voices within the horror community, and is a powerful advocate for women within the genre. Andrea was kind enough to set some time aside to talk some terror with us between feature film showings at the festival.
We at the Scariest Things take our work seriously, but let’s be real. Rue Morgue is the real shit. It is a top-shelf professional horror periodical, and Andrea is a charismatic pro guiding that ship. We dabble in the eddies of horror film criticism. Rue Morgue is the river of horror discussions and sets the standard for horror journalism. As Bloody Judge, she delivered the keynote address to the festival, interviewed George Mihalka on stage for his Q&A for My Bloody Valentine’s 45th anniversary.
Most importalntly, she also applied her horror wisdom to pick her favorite film in the festival. She selected Alect Patchin’s short film, “The Bargain”, a short film involving child abuse, revenge, religion, and a summoning.
I asked Heather Alexander, who is a huge Subissati fan, to write an essay about Andrea’s influence on her as a prologue to our interview:
Andrea Subissati is among the luminaries of horror.
As the executive editor of the Canadian horror magazine Rue Morgue, she not only has her finger on the pulse of all things horror but is also a profound feminist voice in the genre. I’ve been reading her editorials, celebrity interviews and articles since she began her Rue Morgue reign in 2017. Her voice and vision have made me laugh and cry. It’s given me perspective, made me feel seen, and inspired me creatively.Â
Andrea has a master’s degree in sociology and uses her big brain to analyze horror in relation to gender dynamics, culture, history, and the general state of the world. Her academics come into full focus in her intimidatingly brilliant and award-winning podcast, The Faculty of Horror, which she co-hosts with Alexandra West. It’s here that these two brainy horror queens have thoughtful, feminist, and incredibly researched discussions on horror movies and the impact they’ve had on the genre. I’m a lot late to the podcast party in general, so it’s only recently that I’ve been a listener, but believe me when I tell you The Faculty of Horror is highly captivating.
I knew Andrea was scheduled to be a judge and interviewer at this year’s Portland Horror Film Festival. I didn’t dream of meeting her, but I sure as hell wanted to be in the audience when she interviewed director George Mihalka after the fest’s viewing of his movie, My Bloody Valentine. So I bought a ticket to that night’s event.
On June 4th, I left work early to head over to the film fest. In the car, I received a text from Eric Li, my friend and fellow podcaster on The Scariest Things. He asked if I was interested in interviewing Andrea with him. I read this text and almost had a heart attack. The festival started in an hour! I had no time to prepare! I can’t embarrass myself in front of Andrea Subissati! But I also couldn’t say no to this opportunity. So I rushed home, got a pep talk from my husband, and set about writing a few questions. Â
Turns out, I could have talked to her for hours. The woman is rad as hell, and what an honor to meet her, if only for a brief time, in a strange and probably haunted backroom at The Hollywood Theater. Andrea – thanks for lending us your time, I hope our paths cross again. Until then, I remain an avid Rue Morgue reader, and your newest Faculty fan.Â
– Heather Alexander
Heather Alexander is a guest podcaster on The Scariest Things Podcast. She is also a co-host on The Portland Horror Podcast Massacre, a co-host of The Portland Horror Trivia Massacre, a moderator and panelist at Cryptocon, and a bookseller at Powell’s Books. She writes horror movie reviews on Letterbox’d under HeatherA and occasionally at horrormoviesinthedark.blogspot.com.
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