Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

For this special mini bonus episode, we're recounting the magical weekend we spent in the Cleve attending Charles Band's Church of Chills 3 event! We got to meet some old friends face-to-face, watch SUBSPECIES II with a room full of fans, and finally got to meet Charles Band in person! 

Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 

Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 

Logo by Doug McCambridge 

Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com

Insta...

Shot at the tail end of the Tempe era, DEAD AND ROTTING is a nasty little witchcraft thriller that feels tonally far removed from the typical Full Moon fare.  It's a bold and interesting flick with some real talent behind it, including our guest Jeffrey Sisson, who appears in the film and has worked a range of odd jobs for Full Moon over the years!

NOTE: This is the first of a small run of episodes in which Jarrod's mic is a little...

Doug McCambridge is back on the show for what may be our hardest-to-find movie yet: 1988's CATACOMBS! David Schmoeller's demonic horror film had the misfortune of being completed around the time Empire Films shuttered. It spent years in limbo before eventually being released as CURSE IV: THE ULTIMATE SACRIFIC, an unrelated sequel to an obscure 1987 Wil Wheaton movie. We dig into the movie's fascinating history, and are sure to set ...

This week we're thrilled to be joined by underground horror icon Debbie Rochon! Debbie has been in dozens of classic B-movies from Troma, Full Moon and everyone in between. We talk to Debbie about her experience coming up in the industry, recognizing the talent of a young James Gunn in TROMEO & JULIET, and of course all about her experience working with Full Moon. She's every bit as awesome as you'd hope, and we're psyched to h...

We're digging way into the archives this week for one of Empire's semi-lost treasures: the anthology film PULSE POUNDERS! Shot in 1987, the film was intended to be a package of three short films, two of which would mark the first returns to previous Empire favorites; sadly, when the company went under, the unfinished 35MM print was destroyed, and the film was thought lost until 2011, when VHS prints of two of the segments (TRANCERS...

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 Doug McCambridge 

Email: puppetmaste...

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! 

Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Gu...

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 song by Kyle Hornbeck 

Logo by Dou...

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 favorite podcasters, writers, critics a...

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: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com

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 (to theaters, no less!) with 2023'...

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 Guntli 

Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 

Lo...

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.

Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Gu...

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: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com

Instagram/Threads: @pu...

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: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks 

YouTube: @Pup...

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: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com

Instagram/Threads: ...

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 

Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail...

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_castlefreaks 

YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFre...