Whatever happened to Bette + Joan? In the second instalment of our deep dive into the HAGSPLOITATION horror subgenre, the Hollywood legends part ways to put their own spins on traumatised, middle-aged characters still stuck in their younger days. Bette gets Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, a sentimental (and mental) Southern Gothic with a dream sequence that left us STUNNED: while Joan does Strait-Jacket, a far trashier B-movie that sees the highly-strung star lose her shit but not her dignity. Now in the middle of their genre investigation, Eliza and Noah stumble onto some big questions: like is Sweet Charlotte actually better than the OG Baby Jane? Does Joan kinda wanna fuck her son-in-law? And can we really reclaim the word ‘hag’ all these years later, or is the genre just a place where talented older women go to die?

SHOW NOTES: My Way of Life by Joan Crawford // This n' That by Bette Davis