Castle of Horror Podcast

Castle Talk: Theresa Mercado on Programming Scream Screen and Her New Series Hell on Wheels

This episode we’re chatting with Theresa Mercado, curator of the Scream Screen film series in Denver. They’re in the middle of their fifteenth run for four Fridays at the Sie FilmCenter with a new series, "Hell On Wheels", which began February 7 at 9:30pm at the Sie FilmCenter, featuring some of the best terror on two, four, and ten wheels! Psychomania! Crash! Sorcerer! Next up Feb 28 is Dead End Drive-In (1986) w/ director Brian Trenchard-Smith in person. Previous series include: "Treasury o...

The People That Time Forgot (Podcast Discussion)

This week we continue our series on Dinosaurs with the 1977 film The People that Time Forgot. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Daniel Kraus, Author of Bent Heavens

This episode we’re chatting with Daniel Kraus, author of Bent Heavens, a new novel from Henry Holt/Macmillan Books. Bent Heavens tells a harrowing story about a pair of teens who capture an alien creature and begin to take out terrible revenge for one of the teens' father's abduction. It's a book that asks tough questions about grief, paranoia, and torture.  Hosted by Jason Henderson, author of Quest for the Nautilus, due in March from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan. Become a supporter of this p...

The Land That Time Forgot (Podcast Discussion)

This week we continue our series on Dinosaurs with the 1975 film The Land that Time Forgot. The film is based upon the 1918 novel The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The screenplay was written by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn and directed by Kevin Connor. The cast included Doug McClure, John McEnery, Keith Barron, Susan Penhaligon, Anthony Ainley and Declan Mulholland. (Episode 290) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-pod...

The Valley of Gwangi: The Dinosaur Retrospective (Podcast Discussion)

This week we kick off a new series on Dinosaurs with the 1969 film The Valley of Gwangi. The film is a 1969 American western fantasy film, produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, directed by Jim O'Connolly, written by William Bast,[1] and starring James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and Gila Golan. Creature stop-motion effects were by Harryhausen, the last dinosaur-themed film that he animated. (Episode 289) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cast...

Castle Talk: Simon Cox, Director of Invasion Planet Earth (Podcast Interview)

This episode we’re chatting with Simon Cox, the writer, Director and producer of Invasion Planet Earth, a new film about a doctor who leads a group of patients at the clinic where he works in their journey to escape a massive alien invasion. The film comes out February 4, 2020 (VOD & Digital HD On Leading Digital Platforms & DVD).

Castle Talk: Simon Cox, Director of Invasion Planet Earth (Podcast Interview)

This episode we’re chatting with Simon Cox, the writer, Director and producer of Invasion Planet Earth, a new film about a doctor who leads a group of patients at the clinic where he works in their journey to escape a massive alien invasion. The film comes out February 4, 2020 (VOD & Digital HD On Leading Digital Platforms & DVD). Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (Podcast Discussion)

This week we continue our Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde retrospective with 1971 film Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde by Director Roy Ward Baker. (Episode 288) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf (Podcast Discussion)

This week we continue our Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde retrospective with 1971 film Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo (Dr. Jekyll and the Wolfman), also known as Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf, a 1971 Spanish horror film, the sixth in the series, about the werewolf Count Waldemar Daninsky, played by Paul Naschy. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Richard Stanley on Directing "Color Out of Space" and our dialogue with Lovecraft

This episode we’re chatting about THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE, a new science fiction horror film that marks the return to feature directing from Richard Stanley, who brought us such films as Dust Devil and his cult favorite debut Hardware. The film stars Nicolas Cage as a man who’s moved his family to the New England countryside when a mysterious meteteorite lands on his farm, and soon he and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism as it infects their minds and bodie...

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) (Podcast Discussion)

This week we kick off a Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde retrospective with the 1931 film Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde starring Frederic March. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Connor Hoover on "Trapped in the 80s," a "Pick Your Own Quest" Interactive Book (Interview)

In this interview: Trapped in the 80s is the brand new “Pick Your Own Quest” book from Connor Hoover, who’s released a whole slew of interactive books aimed at kids, including Escape from Minecraft and King Tut’s Adventure. This time you, the reader, take a wrong turn and find yourself stuck in the pre-digital, pre-Internet, pre-cell phone world of the 1980s.  Connor lives in Austin, Texas and has a video game machine with 410 retro video games including Ms. Pac-Man, Frogger, and Connor’s per...

Star Wars Holiday Special (Podcast Discussion)

This week we have a special holiday episode discussing the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special,which Lucasfilm has tried to bury from the beginning. What lessons can be learned from a show that makes one mystifying misstep after another? Hosted by Jason Henderson, writer of the upcoming Young Captain Nemo: Quest for the Nautilus, with attorney Julia Guzman of Guzman Immigration of Denver.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Hangout Episode: Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) & The House That Screamed (1969) (Podcast Discussion)

Hangout episodes are less-structured episodes that come during breaks between our main, structured episodes. In each one we choose two movies to discuss in free-wheeling conversations. This episode, Tony Salvaggio, tech director at Rooster Teeth, chose low-budget, surprisingly engaging SF movie Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) and writer Jason Henderson chose the grimy, trashy, thrilling Spanish horror The House That Screamed (1969). Along the way we also touch on how picking on ba...

Castle Talk: Kathryn Leigh Scott & Steve Smith on Reviving Dark Shadows Audiobooks

This episode we’re chatting about the new Dark Shadows Audiobooks of classic Dark Shadows novels from Paperback classics. We’re talking to Kathryn Leigh Scott, a novelist, nonfiction writer, and of course actress who played Maggie on Dark Shadows and now reads the classic gothic Dark Shadows novels of the 60s. Then we talk to Steve Smith, publisher of the new Paperback Classics imprint of Oasis Audio, who is heading up the effort to bring lost classics like the Dark Shadows book series and vi...

Castle Talk: Tara Westwood Just May Be The Grudge in The Grudge (2020)

This episode we’re chatting with Tara Westwood, who stars in Sony’s new reboot of THE GRUDGE. The film will release in theaters on January 3rd and is a new take on the 2004 film of the same name which itself was based on the 2002 Japanese original Ju-on. The film-- which Westwood calls "a simulquel"-- is directed by Nicolas Pesce and produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Taka Ichise. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

SINT/SAINT: The 2019 Christmas Episode (Podcast Discussion)

This week we bring our 2019 season to an end with the holiday-themed Dutch film Saint, about a murderous St. Nick raining terror on modern-day Amsterdam. (Episode 283) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Adam Egypt Mortimer, director of Daniel Isn’t Real

This week we’re chatting with Adam Egypt Mortimer, director and co-writer of Daniel Isn’t Real, which is about a Troubled college freshman Luke (Miles Robbins) suffers a violent family trauma and resurrects his childhood imaginary friend Daniel (Patrick Schwarzenegger) to help him cope. Charismatic and full of manic energy, Daniel helps Luke to achieve his dreams, before pushing him to the very edge of sanity and into a desperate struggle for control of his mind -- and his soul. The film also...

A Return to Salem's Lot: The Stephen King Retrospective (Podcast Discussion)

This week we continue our Stephen King retrospective with a look at the 1987 film A Return to Salem’s Lot directed by Larry Cohen. (Episode 282) Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: "Beyond the Gate" Author Mary SanGiovanni

This episode we’re chatting with Mary SanGiovanni about her new book Beyond the Gate from Kensington Books. Ms. SanGiovanni is the Bram Stoker-nominated author of the Kathy Ryan novels Beyond the Door and Inside the Asylum, and numerous other novels, novellas and short stories. BEYOND THE GATE stars her character occult security consultant Kathy Ryan, who has been called to look into the disappearance of scientists who have discovered a portal to another world, and the mysterious Dead City in...

Castle Talk: Nicole Tompkins, star of Antrum, The Deadliest Film Ever Made

Actress Nicole Tompkins talks about her role in Antrum, a remarkable horror film that opens with a documentary telling us we're about to see a lost, cursed film from the 70s about a brother and sister who go into the woods to perform a ritual to rest the spirit of their beloved, recently dead dog.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Prime Double Feature: Terror Beneath the Sea (1966) and Mark of the Witch (1970) (Podcast Review)

For our two-hundred-and-eighty-first movie review episode we have a special experiment. With regular castmates Drew and Julia out for the Thanksgiving holiday, Tony and Jason relive their days in Austin with a gabfest about a double feature of two films each selected by the other from their recommendations from Amazon Prime's algorithm. Tony's selection was the 1966 monster-sf-bondian spy mashup Terror Beneath the Sea starring Sonny Chiba, and Jason's is the 1970 groovy-coeds-summoning-witche...

Castle Talk: David Moody on Chokehold, Publishing and Zombies

Castle Talk: Cory Doctorow on Disney's Carousel of Progress

This week we’re chatting with Cory Doctorow about a topic that just fascinated Doctorow—enough that he wrote the amazing novella The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow—and fascinated host Jason Henderson: the Walt Disney World attraction Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. We talk about futurism, the optimism of the past, and whether forgotten midcentury fears are a match for modern fears of climate collapse.

Castle Talk: Cory Doctorow on Disney's Carousel of Progress

This week we’re chatting with Cory Doctorow about a topic that just fascinated Doctorow—enough that he wrote the amazing novella The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow—and fascinated host Jason Henderson: the Walt Disney World attraction Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. We talk about futurism, the optimism of the past, and whether forgotten midcentury fears are a match for modern fears of climate collapse. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-pod...

Salem's Lot (2004): The Stephen King Retrospective

This week we continue our Stephen King retrospective with a look at the 2004 miniseries Salem’s Lot starring Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher  and Rutger Hauer. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Leanna Renee Hieber on A Sanctuary of Spirits

This week we’re chatting with Leanna Renee Hieber whose new book A Sanctuary of Spirits comes from Kensington/ Rebel Base Books. An enthusiastic public speaker about the history of the Gothic novel, she loves nothing more than a good ghost story and a finely tailored corset, wandering graveyards and adventuring around New York City. Find Leanna at Twitter @leannarenee and Facebook.com/lrhieber. More information as well as free reads, author resources, links to her art and Etsy store and more ...

Castle Talk: Roger Corman on Making Movies and New Series "Cult-Tastic"

This week we’re chatting with Roger Corman, because Friday November 15 premieres a new series from Shout Factory TV Cult-tastic: Tales From The Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman. Heralded as “the Pope of Pop Cinema,” Roger and Julie Corman pull back the curtain on the Cormans' lifetime of innovative genre filmmaking in this never-before-seen docu-series. The Cormans open up about their iconic pool of collaborators such as James Cameron, Joe Dante, Penelope Spheeris, Pam Grier and more, as ...

Doctor Sleep: The Stephen King Retrospective (Podcast Review)

This week we continue our Stephen King retrospective with DOCTOR SLEEP, directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Ewan MacGregor as Danny Torrance, the boy who escaped the Overlook Hotel at the end of The Shining.   Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Frank Sabatella, Director of The Shed (Interview)

Tonight we’re chatting with Frank Sabatella, writer and director of THE SHED. The Shed is a new movie in which bullied young man Stan (Warren) and his best friend Dommer (Kostro) discover a murderous vampire living in Stan’s shed. Seeing the bloodshed and destruction the monster is capable of, Stan knows he has to find a way to destroy it - but Dommer has a much more sinister plan in mind. It’s directed by Frank Sabatella and stars Jay Jay Warren (“Bosch”), Cody Kostro (“City on a Hill”), Sof...

The Shining (1997 Miniseries): The Stephen King Retrospective (Podcast Review)

This week we return to the world of Stephen King with the 1997 miniseries written by King based on his own novel, The Shining directed by Mick Garris and starring Steven Weber and Rebcca De Mornay. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Halloween Discussion: Tales of Halloween

This week have a Halloween episode with the anthology film Tales of Halloween, a 2015 American horror comedy film anthology consisting of ten mildly interlocking segments, each revolving around the Halloween. It was directed by Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, and Dave Parker. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podc...

Castle Talk: Alice Waddington, director of Paradise Hills

PARADISE HILLS is Spanish fashion creative and photographer Alice Waddington’s feature debut, in which Emma Roberts plays a girl who wakes up on an isolated island in a facility run by the sinister Duchess played by Milla Jovovich, to whom high-class families send their daughters to become perfect versions of themselves. Director Alice Waddington chats about the film. Samuel Goldwyn Films will release the fantasy/sci-fi/thriller PARADISE HILLS in theaters October 25, 2019 and on digital and o...

The Wraith starring Charlie Sheen

This week have a request from regular podmate Tony Salvaggio: we’re discussing the 1986 independently made American revenge action-fantasy film The Wraith. The movie stars Charlie Sheen in the story of a young man who comes back from the dead as a supernatural out to finish off the the drag racing gang that murdered him. Does God make cars? Apparently, because this guy comes back with a souped up Dodge with special powers. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/...

Castle Talk: Drew Edwards on Halloween Man and Comics, School Shootings, And Grappling with Political Controversy

Drew Edwards is writer of the long running underground comic series Halloween Man and winner of the 2018 BEST OF AUSTIN AWARD from the Austin Chronicle. He's launching a new arc of the ongoing Halloween Man series starting this month with Issue #18, a set of stand-alones called Halloween Man: Ugly America. The arc is a satirical look that calls to mind the famed Swamp Thing series American Gothic, in which Halloween Man brushes up against angry citizens out to summon demons and an issue on sc...

Dan Curtis' Dracula: The Sexy Vampire Retrospective

Dracula is a 1973 British television film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula written by Richard Matheson and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Andy Martin, author of With Child: Lee Child and the Readers of Jack Reacher

Andy Martin is the author of Reacher Said Nothing: Lee Child and the Making of Make Me.  He writes for The Independent and The New York Times and teaches at the University of Cambridge. His nonfiction book on surfing, Walking on Water, is a cult classic.  His new book is With Child: Lee Child and the Readers of Jack Reacher.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Santo vs. The Vampire Women

Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro (also known as Samson vs. the Vampire Women) is a 1962 horror film starring the wrestling superhero Santo. A lot of you may know it because it was also a 1995 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was brought to the US by one K Gordon Murray, who was responsible for a lot of kids matinee material in the 60s.  COOL BONUS: This week we're joined by Jen and Dawn of the amazing Women in Caskets Podcast! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker....

And Then There Were None (1945)

This week we have a standalone episode inspired by our recent discussion of Friday the 13th, the 1945 film AND THEN THERE WERE NONE based on the play and novel by Agatha Christie. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Bridget Nelson of RiffTrax on The Teen Agers Series

Bridget Jones Nelson is a writer and comedian known for her work on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and for the past several years as half of the RiffTrax audio commentary team Bridget & Mary Jo, where she and comedian Mary Jo Pehl riff on features, industrial shorts, often with an eye on the social lives and mores of the United States in the mid-century. Her new short is VACATION DAYS, a 1947 entry into a series about and called TEEN-AGERS. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.sprea...

IT Chapter 2: The Stephen King Retrospective

This week we return to the Stephen King Retrospective: we’re talking about IT Chapter 2 directed by Andy Muschietti. We talk about the meaning of it all, compare this version with the 1990 Tim Curry vehicle, and more. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: PJ Hoover, Author of The Hidden Code

PJ Hoover is the prolific writer of the new book from CBAY, The Hidden Code. Eleven years ago, Hannah Hawkins' parents disappeared while traveling abroad. Presumed dead, Hannah and her uncle are shocked when a letter from her mom arrives right after Hannah's sixteenth birthday. By piecing together cryptic hints from the note and other clues left behind, Hannah realizes her parents disappeared while trying to find the mysterious Code of Enoch, an artifact they believed could hold the key to cu...

Castle Talk: Patrick Greene, author of GRIM HARVEST

Patrick C. Greene is a lifelong horror fan who lives in the mountains of western North Carolina. He launched his Ember Hollow series with Red Harvest and is currently working on the third novel in the series. He is also the author of the novels Progeny and The Crimson Calling, as well as numerous short stories featured in collections and anthologies. GRIM HARVEST from Kensington Books is the gripping second installment of Greene’s Haunted Hollow Chronicles, continuing a year from where the fi...

Castle Talk: Spooky Spectacle Director Brandy Herr

Brandy Herr is the co-owner of Spooky Spectacle, a convention featuring horror, paranormal, sci-fi, cosplay, fantasy, etc. Spooky Spectacle 2019 will be held September 14 and 15 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas. This event will feature Ken Sagoes from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4, the Giant Green Goblin Head from Stephen King's Maximum Overdrive (making its first ever Texas appearance!), as well as a Pet Sematary reunion with Dale Midkiff and Miko Hughes. Become a s...

Castle Talk: Rob Zombie, Director of 3 From Hell

3 From Hell is the long-awaited followup to the crime film The Devil’s Rejects, itself a sequel to the nightmarishly bloody and phosphorescent House of 1000 Corpses. 3 From Hell follows the remaining members of the Firefly family as they run from the law and try to make sense of their future. The film debuts on September 16 in select theaters from Fathom Events, and comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on October 15. We talk about media commentary in 3 From Hell and the value of a director's vision. Host...

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

This week we have a special edition of our Godzilla series in honor of this week’s Death Battle episode, for which our own Tony Salvaggio is on the writing team; we’re talking about the 2002 film GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, part of the Godzilla Millennium series from Toho. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Friday the 13th (1980)

This week we have a special look at the 1980 movie Friday the 13th directed Sean S Cunningham. Along the way we try to discern how the movie might have appeared in 1980, and similarities and differences between this and its next of kin, the original Halloween. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Castle Talk: Satanic Panic writer Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix is a popular horror author of such books as My Best Friend’s Exorcism and the amazing nonfiction look at vintage horror, Paperbacks from Hell. He’s the writer of the new movie SATANIC PANIC starring Hayley Griffith (“The Loudest Voice”, “The Mysteries of Laura”), Ruby Modine (“Shameless”, Happy Death Day franchise) and Rebecca Romijn (X-Men franchise, “Star Trek: Discovery”), directed by up-and-coming director Chelsea Stardust (“Into The Dark”, Seeing Green). In SATANIC PANIC, p...

Burnt Offerings: The Summer Rental from Hell

This week we have a special look at the 1976 haunted house movie Burnt Offerings from director Dan Curtis, starring Oliver Reed, Karen Black and Bette Davis. This movie about a family renting a house that begins to work a dark influence on them was an inspiration for The Shining and The Amityville Horror. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

AnimeFest LIVE Panel: The Ring versus the Grudge (Sadako vs. Kayako)

At this year's AnimeFest in Dallas, the Castle of Horror team discusses The Ring versus The Grudge (AKA Sadako vs. Kayako) before a live audience. The Ring vs. The Grudge is a 2016 Japanese supernatural horror film directed by Kōji Shiraishi. It is a crossover of the Ju-on and the Ring series. Hosted by Drew Edwards, creator of the comic Halloween Man; on the panel are author and professor David Bowles; educator and musician Jamie Bahr, Executive Director of Girls Rock Austin; and professiona...