Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

BONUS: An Interview with Ted Nicolaou!

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 Guntli 
Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Doug McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks 
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks 

TerrorVision (with Patrick Hamilton)

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 TERRORVISION, the SUBSPECIES series (and about a dozen other Full Moon/Empire classics) Ted Nicolaou! Our full interview is dropping this Tuesday, and you won't want to miss it!
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: Intruder 

Arcade (with Jordan Morris)

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
*Jarrod’s audio issue was due to a damaged track and bad connection, it does not persist*
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: TerrorVision 

Cellar Dweller (with Doug McCambridge)

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 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: Arcade 

The Creeps (with Michael Tuite)

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 song by Kyle Hornbeck 
Logo by Doug McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks 
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks 
Next week's episode: Cellar Dweller 

Doctor Mordrid (with Cecil Trachenburg)

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. 
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: The Creeps 

The Dungeonmaster (with Jeffrey Byron)

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 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: Doctor Mordrid 

Trancers II: Return of Jack Deth / Trancers III: Deth Lives! (with Erik Hanson)

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! 
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: The Dungeonmaster 

Bad Channels (with Becky Darke)

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 the gap to other Full Moon features. 
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: Trancers II / Trancers III 

Psychos in Love (with Matt Desiderio)

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 Doug McCambridge 
Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com
Instagram/Threads: @puppetmasters_castlefreaks 
YouTube: @PuppetMastersCastleFreaks 
Next week's episode: Bad Channels