Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks

72:37

Episode 195: Daughters of Darkness (with Jenn Wexler)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/10/02

Filmmaker Jenn Wexler (LAST TEMPTATION OF BECKY, THE RANGER) joins us this week to check out an underground classic: the 1971 queer erotic arthouse vampire flick DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS! Starring French screen icon Delphine Seyrig as the immortal Elisabeth Bathory, this vibe-y, sapphic gem is light on plot but heavy on mood, and features some incredible lighting and camera work. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug McCambridge Email:

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70:35

BONUS: Episode 194: Vengeance of the Dead (with Dan...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/09/29

Surprise! We're giving you a whole extra episode this week, because when you have the chance to record with the great Dan McCoy of The Flop House podcast, you take it! This week's episode is all about a teeny tiny regional horror film from the makers of JIGSAW: VENGEANCE OF THE DEAD, in which a disaffected teen starts receiving messages from ghosts to burn evildoers in a small Wisconsin town. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug McCambridge Email:

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80:12

Episode 193: Trancers: The Whole Dethly Affair (with...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/09/25

We're closing the book on both the TRANCERS series and the golden age of Full Moon this week with a look at TRANCERS: THE WHOLE DETHLY AFFAIR, a conviently mashed-together new release combining TRANCERS 4: JACK OF SWORDS and TRANCERS 5: SUDDEN DETH. We're thrilled to be joined this week by Canadian filmmaker, special effects artist, and Full Moon obsessive Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman, Frankie Freako, Deathstalker), who shares his experience with the company and how it's influenced his

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81:04

Episode 192: Two Evil Eyes (with Kasey Baker)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/09/18

Our new expanded format continues to reap rewards, as this week we're gifted the opportunity to talk about some horror heavy hitters. This week is all about TWO EVIL EYES, an anthology film that brings together the talents of American genre legend George A. Romero and Italian bad boy Dario Argento. These two adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe stories features performances from legends like Harvey Keitel, Adrienne Barbeau, and Tom Atkins, and some truly grisly effects from splatter god Tom Savini. We're

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65:48

Episode 191: The Changeling (with Robert Ottone)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/09/10

This week we're covering our classiest picture to date: the austere and scary haunted house drama THE CHANGELING from 1980! And who better to talk about an iconic haunted house than our guest, two-time Bram Stoker-winning author Robert Ottone, whose new book, AMITYVILLE AWAKENS, releases this October! We chat about the career of Oscar-winning star George C. Scott, and about the enduring appeal of the haunted house genre. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo

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63:32

Episode 190: Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go To College...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/09/04

The Ghoulies are going to college, and I'm sorry to report: they're majoring in mischief. This week is all about the iconically-titled GHOULIES III: GHOULIES GO TO COLLEGE, the non-Empire third chapter of the foundational tiny terror series. We're joined this week once again by the amazing Stuart Wellington, part of the Flop House podcast crew, to keep a chronicle of all the pranks, yanks, and toilet tanks. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug

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74:44

Episode 189: The Day Time Ended (with Elliott Kalan)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/08/28

We're travelling back to 1980 for the oddly sedate sci-fi thriller THE DAY TIME ENDED, a movie with just enough weirdness, and just enough dead air, to make for an excellent episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000." And as luck would have it, we're joined this week by the man who actually wrote said episode of MST3: the great Elliott Kalan, host of the Flop House podcast, former head writer of "The Daily Show," and all-around pop culture raconteur. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme

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56:01

Episode 188: BONUS- Catching Up With The Hosts

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/08/25

This week, we take a moment to just catch up and have a casual chat about whatever. We provide updates on some new Full Moon news, chat about some of our unexpected favorite properties, and test Jarrod's recall of our past episodes. 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 Day Time

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60:58

Episode 187: Shock Waves

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/08/21

This week, we're embarking on an exciting new direction for our show! Now, in addition to movies Charles Band directly produced or directed through Empire and Full Moon, we'll be folding in movies that appear on the Full Moon streaming service! This opens us up to a wide new range of oddities and classics. Which category does 1977's zombie-Nazis-at-sea movie SHOCK WAVES fall into? You'll have to listen to find out. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by

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59:16

Episode 186: Josh Kirby... Time Warrior! Chapters 3 & 4

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/08/14

By the Codes of Kang, we declare the JOSH KIRBY... TIME WARRIOR saga continues this week! We're looking at the next two chapters of the kid-friendly Moonbeam serial: TRAPPED ON TOYWORLD and EGGS FROM 70 MILLION BC. The former finds our hero stranded on a deeply unsettling toy-themed world, while the latter explores the backstory of some of the series' important supporting characters... and also has googly-eyed space worms. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle

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73:55

Episode 185: PreHysteria! 2 / PreHysteria! 3 (with...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/08/07

The hysteria concludes this week as we cover the remaining entries in Full Moon's best-selling movie ever, PREHYSTERIA! We're covering parts two and three of the tiny dino epic, as our cute, scaly buddies team up with a spoiled rich kid and a Scotland-obsessed little girl to wreak havoc and mend hearts. Author Lowell Greenblatt is back to chime in on this seminal Moonbeam series, and obviously there's lots of Freddy talk. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo

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65:14

Episode 184: Groom Lake (with Meg Ripley)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/31

Author Meg Ripley joins us for this excursion into Area 51, and more importantly, into the psyche of one Mr. William Shatner. We're talking about GROOM LAKE, a completely forgotten 2002 passion project (vanity project?) written and directed by Shatner. We dig into the wild history of this film, which turned out to be one of the most challenging and expensive of Full Moon's early-aughts output, as well as dissect some of the film's more... interesting choices. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve

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57:09

Episode 183: BONUS: Full Moon Rising - Behind the...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/28

For this special episode, we sat down with filmmaker Sarah Appleton to discuss her upcoming documentary, FULL MOON RISING: THE CHARLES BAND STORY! Get the inside scoop on how this project came to fruition, plus plenty of on-set insights from the director herself! 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

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61:50

Episode 182: Kraa! The Sea Monster (with Sean O'Connor)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/24

Kraa! This week, we're saying goodbye to the Monster Island sublabel with the gleefully goofy romp KRAA! THE SEA MONSTER. And there's no one better to watch it with than Macabre Daily's delightful Sean O'Connor, returning to the show to discuss his love of kaiju, the acting debut of Alison Lohman, and the secret POWER RANGERS knockoff hidden in Full Moon's canon. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug McCambridge Email:

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58:21

Episode 181: Zarkorr! The Invader (with Zander Cannon)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/17

Giant monsters attack! We're talking about Full Moon's incredibly short-lived kaiju sublabel Monster Island this week with the 1996 giant monster movie ZARKORR! THE INVADER! We're thrilled to be joined by comic book creator Zander Cannon, author of the incredible KAIJUMAX, who lends his expertise on the subgenre and helps us determine if Full Moon should have stayed in the giant monster business or if tiny terrors should remain their comfort zone. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme

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60:33

Episode 180: Galactic Gigolo (with Nick Cato)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/10

We're joining up with Gorman Bechard and Carmine Capobianco one last time to talk about the sci-fi sex comedy GALACTIC GIGOLO! The creators of PSYCHOS IN LOVE and CEMETERY HIGH bring their trademark low-brow charm to this story of an alien vegetable who journeys to Earth in a quest to score with as many human women as possible. We're joined by author Nick Cato, who knew Bechard and Capobianco and has a rich history with this goofy little jaunt. Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug

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63:39

Episode 179: The Occultist/Cemetery High (with Jed...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/07/03

It's the return of two of our favorite vulgar auteurs as we cover Tim Kincaid's THE OCCULTIST and Gorman Bechard's CEMETERY HIGH! Filmmaker Jed Shepherd (HOST) returns to talk about these two microbudget flicks, which have incredibly different approaches to their sleazy material, and with incredibly different outcomes. Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug McCambridge Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads:

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63:29

Episode 178: Petrified (with Brian Finnerty)

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/06/26

This week we're covering 2006's PETRIFIED, or, as it should have been titled, SPACE MUMMY VS. NYMPHO ACADEMY! That's right, that milquetoast title is hiding one of the weirdest concepts we've encountered so far. Luckily, we're joined by someone uniquely qualified to cover both the mental health and evil mummy sides of this coin: Brian Finnerty, a contributing writer to Macabre Daily and a certified counsellor! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug

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58:47

Episode 177: BONUS- A Scream Queen Celebration (with...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/06/23

Filmmaker and author Jason Paul Collum returns to the show for a special tribute to all things scream queen! We're discussing Jason's 2011 documentary SCREAMING IN HIGH HEELS, which looks at the late-80's B-movie horror phenomenon from the viewpoint of three of it's stalwarts: Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer, and Linnea Quigley! Hosted by Jarrod Hornbeck and Steve Guntli Theme song by Kyle Hornbeck Logo by Doug McCambridge Email: puppetmasterscastlefreaks@gmail.com Instagram/Threads:

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66:55

Episode 176: Killjoy Goes to Hell (with Benjamin...

Puppet Masters / Castle Freaks ·

2026/06/19

Killjoy is back and this time, he's going to hell... or is trying to, anyway. But first he needs to plead his case before a demonic jury to determine if he's evil enough. That's the conceit for the surprisingly clever KILLJOY GOES TO HELL, the fourth in Full Moon's flagship killer clown franchise. We're joined this week by the director and star of the upcoming metal horror film GOATSWORD, Ryan Twyford-Rigley and Benjamin Frankenberg, who cram into the clown car with us to unpack this weird and

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