Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

The oft-overlooked precursor to one of the great bad movies of all time, TROLL was a mid-grade hit for Empire that has cast a surprisingly long shadow. From introducing a few major careers to possibly inspiring one of the most beloved literary characters of all time, this modest GREMLINS knock-off has had more of a cultural footprint than you might expect. We're joined this week by author and arti...

Over his career spanning nearly 50 years, Jeff Farley has designed makeup and special effects for hundreds of films. From major productions like THE BLOB (1989), ALIEN 3, and DEATH BECOMES HER to tiny Full Moon projects like BLOOD DOLLS, EVIL BONG 2, and GINGERDEAD MAN 3, Farley's done just about everything the effects world has to offer. We spoke with Jeff about his experience, the films that ins...

One of the briefest and strangest sublabels in Full Moon's history, Filmonsters was trying to capitalize on a very specific niche, namely the success of the GOOSEBUMPS TV series and it's subsequent VHS spin-offs. These two family-friendly riffs on classic Universal Monsters were intended to be part of a longer series, but petered out after only two simultaneously-released entries. Actor, writer, a...

Before he became one of Hollywood's most in-demand blockbuster filmmakers, Renny Harlin was just a brash kid from Finland who proved his chops with a small American horror film called PRISON, starring some nobody named Viggo Mortensen! Returning guest Scott Weinberg joins us as we unearth this neglected gem of a horror flick, featuring an amazing bench of character actors and some memorably grueso...

After the collapse of Empire, Stuart Gordon's ROBOT JOX got a delayed release under a new distributor, and Charles Band was quick to respond with not one but two films that marketed themselves as direct follow-ups to Gordon's mech-battling adventure, even if that wasn't exactly true. 1990's CRASH & BURN is more of a locked-room murder mystery than a mech fighter, and 1993's ROBOT WARS, while d...

Some sororities raise money through car washes or bake sales, but the girls of Delta Delta Pi make their money with their meat pies... just don't question where the meat is coming from. We're talking about DELTA DELTA DIE, a highly campy 2003 horror comedy that features iconic B-movie scream queens Brinke Stevens and Julie Strain! We're joined by author and journalist Heather Wixson for this fun l...

A horde of zombie wreaks havoc on a film set in 2000's THE DEAD HATE THE LIVING!, a witty throwback to classic horror that boasts some great monster designs and a deep genre knowledge! We're joined this week by none other than the film's director and writer, Dave Parker, who gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film and shares some great stories about working at Full Moon!  Hoste...

Filmmaker, producer, and all-around badass Heather Buckley joins us this week to talk about Stuart Gordon's DOLLS, the last of the films from our beloved Arrow Video Empire of Screams boxed set! This dark fairy tale is a slight change of pace for Gordon's hardcore repertoire, but it's still a movie with its charms and effectively creepy moments.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme s...

One of the only films on our list to get name-checked on the floor of the Senate, the goofy and utterly harmless sexploitation thriller SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INIFITY hides a good heart behind it's lurid title. We're so excited to be discussing this film with a true afficionado, filmmaker Ted Geoghegan, director of WE ARE STILL HERE, MOHAWK, and BROOKLYN 45!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve G...

We've now covered 50 films in our ill-advised odyssey through the depths of Full Moon! We wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the film's we've covered so far, as well as clean up our long-neglected rankings list!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters...

Howdy, pardners! We're heading to the old west for the supernatural oater GHOST TOWN! This hard-to-find late Empire film was reportedly released unfinished, but still earned a small cult following nonetheless. UK podcast great Brad Hanson (Ex-Rental, Evolution of Horror, Fresh Blood) joins us on our odyssey of ghost cowboys and dueling skeletons.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme...

Run, run, run as fast as you can, it's time for the Gingerdead Man! One of Full Moon's signature tiny terrors makes his Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks debut with two wild movies that are almost as unhinged as star Gary Busey. The great Adam Torkel joins us to talk about the original THE GINGERDEAD MAN and its deeply surprising sequel, THE PASSION OF THE CRUST!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve...

We're back behind the beaded curtain for another pair of Torchlight classics, BEACH BABES FROM BEYOND and BEACH BABES 2: CAVE GIRL ISLAND. Erin Dawn of the Manic Movie Monday podcast moshes on the beach with us through these two scantily-clad romps.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by Doug McCambridge  Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagr...

INTRUDER can almost be considered the lost Sam Raimi film. Written and directed by EVIL DEAD II scribe Scott Spiegel and featuring appearances by Bruce Campbell and both Sam and Ted Raimi, this supermarket slasher has the same scrappy spirit and gruesome gore of Raimi's legendary works. We're digging into it with none other than Mike Muncer, host of the incredible Evolution of Horror podcast!  Hos...

We're so excited this week to get to speak to Mr. Ted Nicolaou! Ted is an editor, writer, and director who has helmed more than a dozen Empire and Full Moon films to date, including TERRORVISION, BAD CHANNELS, and the entire SUBSPECIES franchise! We chat with Ted about his wild and varied career and get some insight into how a Full Moon movie comes to life.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Gun...

Strap in for a wild and goopy good time with Ted Nicolaou's TERRORVISION, a weird and funny satire of suburban 80s excess with one of Empire's strangest monsters! We're joined this week by Patrick Hamilton, one half of the absolutely essential Kill By Kill podcast, as we dissect this silly and fun little gem.  And be sure to tune in later this week when we have an interview with the director of TE...

Slip on your goggles and get ready to step into the twisted virtual world of ARCADE! Author, comedian, and podcasting godfather Jordan Morris joins us this week to talk about Albert Pyun's follow-up to DOLLMAN, one of the most notoriously troubled and difficult productions in Full Moon's history!  Be sure to pre-order Jordan's new graphic novel, YOUTH GROUP, coming this July! bit.ly/youthgroupbook...

Horror comics come to life in the basement of a trippy art commune in CELLAR DWELLER, directed by special effects master John Carl Buechler! We're joined this week by Doug McCambridge of the Good Times, Great Movies podcast to talk about this fun Empire monster movie, and uncover possibly the single most successful person ever associated with an Empire production!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and St...

What if Universal monsters... but smaller? That's the idea behind THE CREEPS, a weird little take on the typical Full Moon tiny terrors genre that pays loving homage to monster movies of yore. Michael Tuite joins us as we discuss all the mad scientist-infused goofiness, plus the genuinely good performance from Full Moon mainstay Phil Fondacaro.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme so...

The closest thing Charles Band ever made to an actual Marvel movie, DOCTOR MORDRID is Band's love letter to Marvel and his favorite character, Doctor Strange. Jeffrey Combs stars as the titular hero in this surprisingly lavish production that should have launched a larger franchise. Cecil Trachenburg from GoodBadFlicks portals in from another dimension to tackle all the witchcraft and wizardry.  H...

A sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology film from the early days of Empire, THE DUNGEONMASTER serves as the first project for a lot of future Full Moon heavy hitters, including our guest! Jeffrey Byron, the star and co-writer of THE DUNGEONMASTER, joins us to discuss his time on the film and give us a behind-the-scenes look at this TRON meets DUNGEONS & DRAGONS delight!  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck an...

It's a double-dose of Deth this week as we return to one of our earliest franchises, TRANCERS! The only Empire film series to make it onto the Full Moon label, the Tim Thomerson-starring franchise has always been a favorite of Charles Bands, but do these carry over the charm of the original or is it a case of diminishing returns? Erik Hanson from the Cradle 2 the Grave Podcast joins us to find out...

An alien lifeform infects the airways of a local radio station, and only one shock jock can stop them from sucking unsuspecting victims into full-length music videos! That's right, it's BAD CHANNELS, the wacky sci-fi/comedy/musical from Ted Nicolaou! We're excited to be joined by British podcasting great Becky Darke to dig into to this film's wild take on MTV, and it's failed attempts at bridging...

One of the weirder objects we've encountered so far, PSYCHOS IN LOVE is about as cult as cult gets, a madcap mashup of PSYCHO and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. We're joined by Matt Desiderio from the oddball horror collective HorrorBoobs, who talks about his personal friendship with the film's writer/star Carmine Capobianco.  Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli  Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck  Logo by...

We're very excited to welcome SUBSPECIES franchise stars Denice Duff and Kevin Sirtas to the show! Denice and Kevin met on their first film together, SUBSPECIES II, and forged a friendship that's lasted to this day. The two share their experiences shooting the series in Romania, give some insight into their experiences on a Full Moon set, and offer some candid insights about their long and multifa...