Castle Of Horror Podcast

Jason talks to Tom Defalco, writer of Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (new in trade paperback from Marvel) on the popularity of his story of a female super-hero "fifteen years in the future." We also talk about different formats and attempts to get new readers into comics, such as when Spider-girl successfully sold for years in a special manga-sized format just for schools.

We continue our look at 50s teen horror with 1957's I Was A Teenage Werewolf. This movie is best known for its makeup effects, but at its heart is a surprisingly dark and sadistic performance by Whit Bissell as the narcissistic Professor Frankenstein, who will lie, cheat, steal and murder to build a man from teenager parts.

In observance of the release of the new Blu-Ray release of The Changeling on Tuesday, August 7, we present our classic episode on The Changeling. NOTE: this is an older episode, before we upgraded our recording, so you may expect some pops and hisses. Thank you!

We spin off the Atomic Age Horror Retrospective with a Summer retrospective on Teenage Horror of the Mid-century, starting with I Was a Teenage Werewolf, the 1957 horror classic starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager, Yvonne Lime and Whit Bissell. 

Jennifer Ziegler talks about REVENGE OF THE TEACHER'S PETS, the latest in her very funny, engaging series about the misadventures of a set of Texas Triplets, in this fourth book entering the seventh grade. We talk about letters from fans, writing the wrong thing to get to the right thing, and juggling narrative voices.

Tiki Culture was all about creating a frozen-in-time, idyllic wonder that bore curious resemblance to the World War II Pacific Theater. The crucial work of the 20th century to understand Tiki is The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, which explored soldiers' return home while haunted by the pain of the ugliest and most mesmerizing moments of the war. We discuss this key film with an eye towards Tiki Culture. 

LUKE SPARKE is the writer and director of  OCCUPATION, in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD on July 20, 2018. In Occupation, the inhabitants of a small town in Australia realize they must band together for a chance to strike back at an massive alien invasion. The film features a really big cast including Dan Ewing (“Home and Away,” “Power Rangers R.P.M.”), the always amazing Temuera Morrison (Aquaman, Green Lantern), Stephany Jacobsen (Alex Cross, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), and a heck of a lot more. We talk about making great indy movies and juggling characters. 

Professors Guadalupe Garcia McCall and David Bowles discuss their new translation of McCall's book Summer of the Mariposas-- a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey about four sisters traveling from Texas through Mexico. 

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) stands as a film in dialogue with 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still with two main points: aliens are not to be trusted and monuments look amazing when being blown up. 

We discuss the deeply weird Cobra Woman, a South Seas adventure featuring evil twin Maria Montezes, cobra dancing, and a mute Lon Chaney, Jr.  

Another WolfCop, new in DVD, is a Canadian horror comedy film written and directed by Lowell Dean, who also directed the 2014 film WolfCop as well as the zombie thriller 13 Eerie (2013) and the post-apocalypse action film SuperGrid (2018).. The Wolfcop series is an irreverent horror comedy about a cop in a depressed town who becomes a werewolf but retains his identity as a police officer.

We augment the Atom Age Horror Retrospective with a strange, deeply problematic expedition movie from 1960 by adventure/disaster maestro Irwin Allen: The Lost World, about an expedition to a plateau where cannibals and dinosaurs played by lizards with glued-on fins roam.

Paul Tremblay's new book is a terrifying home invasion story about a small family under attack from four strangely polite, very scary people. We talk about the home invasion genre and how evil can sometimes sound so darn nice right up until the worst moments. 

We discuss the 1958 film The Blob, often cited as the film debut of Steve McQueen.

Tiki Culture was marked by a desire to explore lost worlds, particularly of Polynesia, but always from the comfort of your own home. This urge to explore found its voice in music but also in film. Voodoo Island (1957) is a prime example of the fascination/exploration/exploitation of the South Seas. We talk about this odd feature starring Boris Karloff and others like it.

We talk to Halloween Man creator Drew Edwards on his new special from Sugar Skull Media, Lucy Chaplin: Science Starlet, and about creating a new heroine who has garnered surprising attention.

We take on the best giant lizard movie ever to be filmed around Lake Dallas, 1959's The Giant Gila Monster. Along the way we talk about small towns and the roles people play within them, and how films like this one can help understand the need for vaccinations. Also, a few thoughts on Godzilla 1985.

This week we introduce California Tiki, a new podcast on America’s fascination with Tiki, that odd culture that made everyone suddenly put on Hawaiian shirts and start downing rum drinks. Tiki Culture was everywhere from the 40s to the 70s, and the reasons why are surprising, often involving exorcising America’s wartime demons. We start out with a look at Beach Party, the 1963 film that kicked off the beach movie trend and also introduced the pairing of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.  But at the center of the film is Robert Cummings, who plays a scientist yearning for a simpler life– a key element of Tiki.

David Bowles, professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, talks about his sweeping new book of Myths of Mexico: Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky. 

We look at giant-bug movie Tarantula, which actually has a lot to say about small towns and the real fear of radioactivity. Plus we discuss whether there ever can be something "so bad it's good."