Castle of Horror Podcast

This week we have a look at the 1981 Slasher film JUST BEFORE DAWN. This is Episode 488! JUST BEFORE DAWN is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Jeff Lieberman and starring Chris Lemmon , Gregg Henry , Deborah Benson, Ralph Seymour , Jamie Rose , and George Kennedy . The film follows a group of hikers who travel into a mountainous region of Oregon to visit property inherited by one of them, o...

Tonight we're talking about one of the most comprehensive Hammer releases in a while — Sangster Directs Hammer, a seven-disc box set from Severin Films featuring the three films director Jimmy Sangster made for Hammer at the turn of the 70s: The Horror of Frankenstein, Lust for a Vampire, and Fear in the Night. All three are now in their North American UHD premiere, scanned in 4K from original cam...

This week we have a look at the 1968 Japanese horror film Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters. This is Episode 487!  Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters ( Japanese : 妖怪百物語, Hepburn : Yōkai Hyaku Monogatari; lit. One Hundred Yōkai Tales) is a 1968 Japanese fantasy horror film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda , with special effects by Yoshiyuki Kuroda . It is the first in a trilogy of films produced in the late...

This week we have a look at the 1973 film Battle for the Planet of the Apes. This is Episode 486!  Battle for the Planet of the Apes is a 1973 American  science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson from a screenplay by John William Corrington and Joyce Hooper Corrington , based on a story by Paul Dehn . The film is the sequel to Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and the fifth and final...

Tonight we're chatting with Aleese Lin, author of the debut novel Samantha Spük: Paranormal Wedding Planner, out right now from Saga Press / Simon & Schuster. This is a whimsi-goth contemporary romance — a spooky cozy, if you will — about Samantha "Sabby" Spük, a young woman who has spent her whole life trying to escape her family's legacy of supernatural chaos. She finally lands a normal nine...

This week we have a look at the 1972 film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This is Episode 485!  Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is a 1972 American science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Paul Dehn . The film is the sequel to Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and the fourth installment in the original Planet of the Apes film series It stars Roddy McDowall , Do...

This week we have a look at the 1971 film ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES. This is Episode 484! Escape from the Planet of the Apes is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn. The film is the sequel to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and the third installment in the original Planet of the Apes film series. It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Br...

Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post from a screenplay by Paul Dehn, based on a story by Dehn and Mort Abrahams. The film is the sequel to Planet of the Apes (1968) and the second installment in the original Planet of the Apes film series.[3] It stars James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and Linda Harrison, and features Charlton Heston...

Tonight we’re chatting with C. J. Dotson, author of the new book THESE FAMILIAR WALLS, out from St. Martin’s Press in April. THESE FAMILAR WALLS is a suburban horror novel about a woman who inherits her childhood home after her parents are murdered there, only to find it haunted by past trauma and a menacing presence, forcing her to confront dark secrets from her youth, including a troubled friend...

This week we have a look at the 1968 film PLANET OF THE APES. This is Episode 482!  Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science-fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, loosely based on the 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, and Linda Harriso...

This week we have a look at the 1971 film Let's Scare Jessica to Death. This is Episode 481! Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a 1971 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by John Hancock in his directorial debut, and starring Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett, and Mariclare Costello. The film depicts the nightmarish experiences of a psychologically...

This week we have a look at the 2026 film Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. This is Episode 480! Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a 2026 American comedy horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy. It serves as a direct sequel to Ready or Not (2019), with Samara Weaving reprising her role as Grace MacCaullay. The film also stars Kat...

This week we have a special Second Bite look at two films which we love and deserve more attention: 1970’s Count Yorga, Vampire and its 1971 sequel The Return of Count Yorga. This is Episode 479! Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1971), both written and directed by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, revitalized the vampire genre by transplanting the classic Dracula fo...

onight we’re chatting with Daniel Kraus, author of the new book PARTIALLY DEVOURED: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World. PARTIALLY DEVOURED (On sale March 10, 2026) is an examination of a horror movie classic’s importance to our history, culture, and psychology, a perfect blend of research and memoir in the vein of Quentin Tarantino's Cinema Speculation. Daniel Kraus i...

This week we take a look at the 1967 Hammer film Frankenstein Created Woman. This is Episode 478! Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British  Hammer horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg . The screenplay was written by Anthony Hinds (as John Elder). It is the fourth film in Hammer's Frankenstein series . Become a supporter of this podcast: https://ww...

This week we continue our Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 2009 film My Bloody Valentine 3D. This is Episode 477! My Bloody Valentine 3D is a 2009 American 3D slasher film directed and co-edited by Patrick Lussier, and written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith. A remake of the 1981 Canadian film, it stars Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith and Kevin Tighe. The film focuses on the...

This week we continue our Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine. This is Episode 476!  My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka from a screenplay by John Beaird. It features an ensemble cast that includes Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Va...

This week we dive into a Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 2025 film Heart Eyes. This is Episode 475!  Heart Eyes is a 2025 American romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben from a screenplay by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy. The film stars Olivia Holt as Ally McCabe and Mason Gooding as Jay Simmons, following two coworkers who find themselves t...

Tonight we’re chatting with Christina Kovac, author of the new book WATCH US FALL. Christina Kovac is a mystery author and former DC broadcast news producer with 17 years of experience managing Washington, DC newsrooms and producing crime and political stories. Her career in television journalism spanned Fox Five's Ten O'Clock News, ABC affiliate WJLA, and NBC News. She is the author of The Cutawa...

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1966 film Kill Baby Kill!  This is Episode #474!  Kill, Baby, Kill ( Italian : Operazione paura, lit. 'Operation Fear') is a 1966 Italian Gothic supernatural horror film directed by Mario Bava and starring Giacomo Rossi Stuart and Erika Blanc . Written...

This week we have a look at the 1951 film SCROOGE.  This is Episode #473! Scrooge (released as A Christmas Carol in the United States) is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film and an adaptation of Charles Dickens 's A Christmas Carol (1843). It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge , and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst , with a screenplay by Noel Langley . It also features...

Tonight we’re chatting with Vanessa F. Penney, author of The Witch of Willow Sound, distributed by Simon & Schuster.  The book is a Canadian best-seller, a feminist gothic tale with a tough-as-nails female protagonist who must find her elderly aunt, long suspected of being a witch. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support .

This week we are joined by the Monster Movie Happy Hour Podcast for a look at Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film FRANKENSTEIN.  This is Episode #472!  Frankenstein is a 2025 American gothic drama film produced, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro , based on Mary Shelley 's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus . The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein , Jacob Elordi as th...

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1965 film Planet of the Vampires.  This is Episode #471! Planet of the Vampires ( Italian : Terrore nello spazio, lit.  'Terror in Space'; released in the UK as The Demon Planet) is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed and co-written by Mario Bav...

Tonight we’re chatting with national bestselling author Christina Henry, whose first hardcover, The Place Where They Buried Your Heart (Berkley, Nov. 4), blends haunting suspense with deeply human themes. Christina is known for her dark fantasy and horror novels (Good Girls Don’t Die, The Ghost Tree, The House That Horror Built), each exploring the shadows in both supernatural forces and human hea...