Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

It's time for another mid-90's David DeCoteau joint, with 100% more POWER RANGERS and about the same amount of hot boys in their underwear. We're talking about 1998's TALISMAN, DeCoteau's low-budget riff on SUSPIRIA, and we're chatting all about it with the amazing Meredith Borders, writer and editor from FANGORIA!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by D...

We're stepping back into the world of Lovecraft for THE RESONATOR! This streaming-series-turned-epic-length-film brings back characters from FROM BEYOND and RE-ANIMATOR to offer a new spin on those classic stories with just a touch of RIVERDALE-style teen cool. We're joined by writer and critic Topher Hansson for THE RESONATOR: MISKATONIC U, BEYOND THE RESONATOR, and CURSE OF THE RE-ANIMATOR!  Hos...

Time to pull a Band-Aid. After putting it off for a whopping 126 episodes, we're finally taking a step back into the Bongiverse for EVIL BONG 2 and 3! Have we softened any on Charles Band's juvenile stoner comedy or are we in for another bad trip? We'll find out, alongside our awesome special guest: artist, writer and cool person Corinne Halbert!   Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme...

Fuel up your post-apocalyptic funny car and get ready to worship the power crystals, because we're going back to 1983 for the 3D thrills of METALSTORM: THE DESTRUCTION OF JARED-SYN! Starring friend of the show Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll, and a young Kelly Preston, METALSTORM has become a low-key fan favorite from the pre-Empire days, and we're gearing up to talk about it with one of our very favo...

We have special treat today: an exclusive interview with filmmaker, author, and queer horror pioneer Jason Paul Collum! Jason joins us to talk about his long and storied career both within and without the Full Moon stable, and shares some insights into the making of a low-budget horror film.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email:...

At long last, we're closing the book (for now) on Full Moon's most prestigious series: SUBSPECIES! And we couldn't have asked for a better guest to close it out: series star and one of our favorite people, the great Denice Duff! Denice joins us to talk about the oft-maligned 1998 entry SUBSPECIES 4: BLOODSTORM, which was the last film in the series until the vamps made a triumphant surprise return...

Charles Band makes his unofficial directorial debut with this bizarre spin on the car-crash craze of the 70s, the directly-titled 1976 flick CRASH! Critic and author Edward Douglas joins us for this very Band-ified take on the classic auto chaos genre, as an injured woman learns she can psychically control a killer car and uses this talent to seek revenge.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Gunt...

This week, we're covering the strange and compelling midwest mannequin melodrama JIGSAW! A group of art students are tasked with assembling an "exquisite corpse" in the form of a piecemeal mannequin called Jigsaw, and chaos, eventually, ensues, but not before some baffling bar orders, traumatic flashbacks, and a whole lot of loaded conversation. It's an odd little piece, but weirdly watchable. Hos...

Lock yourself into the castle... sorry, I mean PRISON OF THE DEAD, an early 2000's David DeCoteau joint about a group of dumb teens who shack up in a haunted dungeon for a night of gore and arguably one too many twists. We're joined this week by author Nathaniel Tolle!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefrea...

We have a special bonus episode for you this week! John Torrani returns to the show to help moderate an interview with Joe Haldeman, the legendary sci-fi author of THE FOREVER WAR and the screenwriter of Stuart Gordon's ROBOT JOX!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads: @puppet...

Author Clay McLeod Chapman joins us this week for an absolutely bizarre sci-fi thriller, TRANSFORMATIONS! Featuring tons of sex and gloppy gore, the movie tells the tale of the hapless victim of an evil space succubus who tries to implant an alien seed inside her victims.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlef...

Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks  YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks  Next week's episode: Transformations 

A group of curious kids accidentally unleash an ancient demon from Middle Eastern mythology in the fun effects-driven Moonbeam film DEMON IN THE BOTTLE! Cameron Chaney of Library Macabre joins us for a film discussion, and continues with us as we rhapsodize about the GOOSEBUMPS era of YA horror.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Ema...

As a special treat, we sat down with a literal member of the Full Moon family: composer Richard Band! Band has scored dozens of Full Moon and Empire films, and we're looking back over his long and storied career! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreak...

Tony Todd was a giant of the genre, and his death last November was deeply felt. So it's nice that we get one more film from him, thanks to CUTTER'S CLUB, a 2005 film long thought lost, but finally recovered and released just this year! Not only do we get some unseen work from Todd at his most deliciously over-the-top, we also get to see one last film from late Full Moon greats like Mac Ahlberg an...

We're committing ourselves to discussing HELL ASYLUM, Danny Draven's 2002 reality TV ghost flick! A surprisingly gory, effectively shot micro budgeted gem, HELL ASYLUM hearkens back to the brief craze of haunted reality shows like MTV's "Fear" in a fun little thriller. Writer, critic, and all around amazing human Jerry J. Sampson returns to the show! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  The...

Enroll this semester in the VOODOO ACADEMY, David DeCoteau's quietly groundbreaking queer softcore opus. Considered too risky for most major video store chains, the film still found a devoted cult audience and remains a fascinating piece of queer horror history. We're joined by the amazing writer-filmmaker-urban mystic Sarah Lyons to talk about the film and it's long-delayed sequel 2: VOODOO ACADE...

Roll them bones! We're taking a chance on THE HAUNTED CASINO, aka DEAD MAN'S HAND, a movie that, believe it or not, takes place in a haunted casino. We're joined by the awesome Katie Hettenbach, aka Katie Afraidy, for this campy old-west throwback that features genre icons like Sid Haig and Michael Berryman! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCa...

This week, we're checking in to the RAVENWOLF TOWERS from 2016! This bizarre little flick was repurposed from a Full Moon streaming series, that unfortunately was cancelled abruptly in the middle of it's season, just as it was setting itself as a kind of Kushner-Locke era AVENGERS.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmast...

We're hitting the streets this week for a double-dose of mid-80s Linda Blair exploitation flicks! We're covering SAVAGE ISLAND, a cobbled-together amalgam of two sleazy women-in-prison movies with a tacked-on Blair wraparound, and as a bonus, we're covering the non-Empire film SAVAGE STREETS, a teen revenge flick that encapsulates the state of Blair's post-EXORCIST career. We're joined this week b...

This week we're joined by B-movie (I'm sorry, B-Plus) icon Tiffany Shepis! Tiffany started her career in James Gunn's TROMEO AND JULIET and has gone on to appear in nearly 200 projects, including Full Moon favorite DELTA DELTA DIE! We catch up with Tiffany for a delightful conversation about coming up in the microbudget horror scene and our own double-feature mixed tapes.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbec...

Step right up! This week we're stepping into the SIDESHOW, Fred Olen Ray's loving homage to Tod Browning's FREAKS! Filmmaker Frank Sabatella joins us on our tour through the horrors of this carnival treat.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks  You...

We're back with the PUPPET MASTER series, and the franchise has entered a bumpy transitional period. We're talking about CURSE OF THE PUPPETMASTER, an odd side adventure starring the puppets and a crew of entirely new characters, and RETRO PUPPETMASTER, which takes us all the way back to the beginning of the timeline with Greg Sestero as young Toulon! Author and PM expert is back to walk us throug...

Two movies for the price of one! This week we're lumping two flicks together for one high-quality episode, with returning guest Jed Shepherd (HOST)! We're talking about 1992's BODY SNATCHERS knockoff SEEDPEOPLE, one of our last films from Full Moon's golden era, and then we're transitioning to an oddball Kushner-Locke era film from David DeCoteau, 1997's SHRIEKER! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Ste...

Pew pew! This week, friend of the show Adam Torkel returns to talk about one of Charlie Band's earliest hits, the sci-fi thriller LASERBLAST from 1978! This film not only looms large in Band's pre-Full Moon catalogue, it also inspired one of the best "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episodes ever!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Ema...