A 16th-century samurai is frozen and awakens in 1980s Los Angeles in GHOST WARRIOR (aka SWORDKILL), a fun and strangely beautiful Empire actioner! Alex Ayling of the Mates From Hell and Evolution of Horror is back to help us unpack this semi-lost treat, which features the sole American film performance from Japanese TV star Hiroshi Fujioka.

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: Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong

Critic and podcaster Scott Weinberg joins the prestigious three-timers club as we roll the clock back to the early 1980s for THE ALCHEMIST! This long-shelved supernatural thriller had a troubled production and struggles from a decided lack of energy, but it gives us the opportunity to talk about a few weird pockets of early 80s B-cinema, including the late-career action turn of Robert Ginty and other deliriously weird rabbit holes.

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: Ghost Warrior

Get ready for some good old-fashioned early-80s grime with the violent revenge thriller WALKING THE EDGE! The amazing Caroline Johnson from Terror Terroir joins us to wade through this gleefully sleazy Robert Forster/Nancy Kwan/Joe Spinell vehicle, and helps us find the perfect wine pairing for the occasion.

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 Alchemist

We're going on a bit of a side quest this week, because why not? For this special bonus episode, we sit down with Michael Felsher from Red Shirt Pictures, which produces documentaries and bonus features for DVDs! We nerd out with Michael about how he got into the industry, some of our favorite DVD extras, and some of his favorite Empire projects.

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: Walking the Edge

Saddle up, cowgirls, because we're heading off to the distant and sexy world of PETTICOAT PLANET, one of the last true Torchlight films. Kolleen Carney-Hoepfner is back to talk about this erotic journey into the old west of outer space (it's complicated), and why this might be one of the most fun movies in the Torchlight canon.

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: Walking the Edge

Author John Collins joins this week for a little slice of deep film history. FILMGORE is part of a nearly-dead genre of compilation films, in this case splicing together the goriest scenes from movies like BLOOD FEAST, DRILLER KILLER and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE into bite-sized chunks, all hosted by yours cruelly, Elvira Mistress of the Dark! We get to talk about some fascinating little pockets of film history here, from the early home video boom to the career of the Wizard of Gore himself, Herschel Gordon Lewis.

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: Petticoat Planet

We're ripping the band-aid with this one, folks. This week is all about the... let's say racially insensitive killer doll movie OOGA BOOGA, a riff on the classic "Trilogy of Terror" sequence that feels deeply out of place in 2013. It's a bit of a tough sit for your well-meaning hosts, but it was made much more enjoyable thanks to our special guest, actor and writer Rigo Garay, who lends his wit and perspective to an otherwise pretty unpleasant film.

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: Filmgore

This week, multi-thousand-year-old creature from beneath the streets of Brooklyn Martin Monster joins us for a double-dose (or is that doll-ble dose?) of tiny action with DOLL GRAVEYARD and DANGEROUS WORRY DOLLS! The former is a noble attempt to relaunch Full Moon with a new line of killer toys, while the latter is truly one of the strangest films we've covered on this show, a latter-day women-in-prison movie with some standout performances and a good amount of ick.

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: Ooga Booga