Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

Lurking Fear

Another of Full Moon's HP Lovecraft adaptations, LURKING FEAR tends to get forgotten in the shadow of the Stuart Gordon trilogy, but this fun genre mash-up has a lot to like. With plenty of genre stars (including Vincent Schiavelli, Jon Finch, Ashley Laurence, and Jeffrey Combs), the story melds a hostage flick with supernatural horror as a skeleton crew of survivors hole up in a cemetery to fight a violent creature stalking the graves. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: Demonic Toys 

Puppet Master II / Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge (with Nat Brehmer)

The first two PUPPET MASTER sequels are both major fan-favorites, so we knew we had to bring in an expert to weigh in! This week, we're joined by Nat Brehmer, the author of PUPPET MASTER COMPLETE: A FRANCHISE HISTORY, to talk through two early Full Moon classics. Firstly, PUPPET MASTER II, which follows up on the original with more puppets and more gore while letting SFX master Dave Allen take a turn in the director's chair! Then, we're checking out the surprisingly complex prequel film PUPPET MASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE, which takes us back to World War II in an attempt to re-brand the violent puppets as heroes! 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: Lurking Fear 

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (with Ailish Collins)

One of the only true comedies we're going to cover on this show, CANNIBAL WOMEN IN THE AVOCADO OF DEATH is a feminist parody of APOCALYPSE NOW, featuring direct-to-video bombshell Shannon Tweed and a pre-talk show Bill Maher, with a screenplay by the writer of PRETTY WOMAN! It's an interesting mixed bag of a production, but it is a beloved favorite of our guest, Ailish Collins, who joins us to expound on the film's virtues while helping our host deal with a case of Maher-aversion. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: Puppet Master II / Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge 

From Beyond (with Nathan Rabin)

The second in Stuart Gordon's trilogy of HP Lovecraft adaptations, FROM BEYOND is a wild, kinky, gleefully disturbing thrill ride of a movie. We're joined this week by none other than Nathan Rabin, author, culture writer, former editor of the Onion AV Club, and the man who coined the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl!" Nathan helps us dive deep into Gordon's oeuvre, from his early days as a renegade theater producer to his era of making high-quality horror at budget prices. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death 

Tourist Trap (with Danny Torkel)

A group of teens stumbles upon a roadside attraction full of sentient mannequins in the slow-brewing cult favorite TOURIST TRAP! The earliest film we've discussed so far, TOURIST TRAP was an instrumental early hit for young Charles Band and his future PUPPET MASTER director, David Schmoeller. We're joined this week by podcaster and writer Danny Torkel to talk through this scrappy low-budget slasher! 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: From Beyond 

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (with JR Ralls)

It's Linnea Quigley vs. an evil wish-granting imp in David DeCoteau's goofy 1988 schlockfest SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA! JR Ralls from "Thirty-Twenty-Ten" joins us as we talk bowling in the 80s, USA's "Up All Night," and the long-delayed sequel you never knew you wanted! 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks
Next week's episode: Tourist Trap 

Oblivion (with Dylan James Quarles)

Howdy, y'all! This week, we're joined by author and podcaster Dylan James Quarles to watch OBLIVION, a wild blend of sci-fi and western tropes that features one of Full Moon's most star-studded casts to date (George Takei! Julie Newmar!). It's a rootin-tooting, space-shootin' good time. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Next week's episode: Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama 

Piranha Women

This week, we're looking at our most recent Full Moon release to date, the 2022 serial PIRANHA WOMEN! Directed by legendary schlockmeister Fred Olen Ray, this film features genetically-modified bombshells with some killer fish DNA that manifests in some... unorthodox body mutations. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Next week's episode: Oblivion 

Test Tube Teens From the Year 2000

This week, we're looking at the seamy underbelly of the Full Moon Empire, the short-lived softcore porn label Torchlight! One of the first efforts (certainly one of the most provocatively named) was TEST TUBE TEENS FROM THE YEAR 2000, aka VIRGIN HUNTERS. Directed by David DeCoteau and starring Morgan Fairchild, this campy skin flick tries to add some sexiness to a goofy TERMINATOR parody. 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Douglas McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Next week's episode: Piranha Women 

Subspecies

This week, Full Moon relocates to Romania for the first of their hugely popular vampire series, SUPSPECIES! We're going to meet the long-fingered villain Radu and his weird little blood goblin friends as we dig into Ted Nicolao's fun gothic horror flick. We're also going to dig in to the history behind Full Moon's move to it's new Eastern European headquarters, and look back on what would be one of the most taxing productions in the company's history! 
Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli 
Logo by Doulas McCambridge 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com 
Instagram: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks 
Next week's episode: Test Tube Teens From the Year 2000