Indie filmmakers are a special breed.

What happens when a husband and wife and their two young daughters choose to ditch Hollywood and load everything into an RV to make movies entirely on their own terms? You get The Adams Family — no, not the ones that probably first comes to mind. Toby Poser, John Adams and their daughters Zelda and Lulu, have built one of the most fiercely independent filmmaking operations in the history of American cinema. Under their Wonder Wheel Productions banner, they literally handle every aspect of production themselves: writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, producing, costume design, practical special effects, drone operation, post-production and even original music. Much of the musical score uses music from their metal band, H6LLB6ND6R. If this doesn't fit under the idea of a Creative Asylum, I don't know what does.

Beginning with their 2012 road-trip debut movie, Rumblestrips — shot out of an RV on a 20,000-mile cross-country odyssey with two young kids in tow — Toby and John have built an extensive filmography, one that is deeply revered in the world of DIY horror. Their titles include The Deeper You Dig, Hellbender (Shudder), Where the Devil Roams (a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes), Hell Hole, and their Fantasia Film Festival prize-winner, Mother of Flies, their most recent film at the time that this conversation was recorded.

In this episode, Toby and John talk about their life as a self-taught, self-financed, fully DIY filmmaking family — from the organic chemistry of co-directing with your spouse and children, to the discipline of wearing every crew hat on set, to the raw, personal stories (including real-life illness and loss) that drive their work. We go deep on their evolution from indie drama to supernatural horror, the punk ethos that runs through every frame they shoot, and how building their own creative ecosystem — outside Hollywood, outside the rules, deep in the woods of the Catskill Mountains — has earned them a devoted cult following that grows deeper with every new film. If you have a fondness for independent filmmaking, DIY horror, family collaboration, practical special effects, or just stories about creative people who have no interest in waiting for permission from the established industry — this one's for you.

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Before he ever put brush to canvas, Chet Zar was building monsters for Hollywood. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Zar worked as a makeup effects artist, sculptor, painter, digital effects artist, and creature designer, racking up credits on some of the most visually iconic films of his era — Hellboy I & II, The Ring I & II, X-Men 3, Planet of the Apes, and Men in Black II. He also served as special makeup effects supervisor for many of Tool's critically acclaimed music videos and created digital 3D visuals for the band's live performances.

But Hollywood's endless compromises and creative politics took their toll — as Zar grew tired with the artistic concessions he was forced to make, he walked away from the film industry at age 33 to follow his bliss — and the art world has never been the same.

What emerged from that leap of faith was something genuinely singular: empathetic oil paintings of monsters that invite viewers to connect with their own shadow sides — brooding, haunting, darkly beautiful portraits that speak to the fears and anxieties we all carry but rarely confront. His work has been exhibited alongside legends like H.R. Giger, Zdzisław Beksiński, and Clive Barker, and is held in the collections of Guillermo del Toro, Tool guitarist Adam Jones, and Jonathan Davis of Korn. His 2012 retrospective Black Magick: The Art of Chet Zar featured contributions from del Toro himself, cementing Zar's place as a true pillar of the dark art movement.

Now, as founder of the Dark Art Society and host of its long-running podcast — a wide-ranging conversation series covering dark art, literature, film, music, philosophy, paranormal experiences, and the occult — Zar has become one of the genre's most vital voices. Don't miss this deep dive into the mind of a man who turned Hollywood's nightmares into his own visual masterpieces. Like, subscribe, and follow us for more conversations with the artists who dare to go to the fantastic new places.

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Some artists make music. Some make art. Jon Langford makes history — and then records it and paints it.

Born in Newport, Wales, Langford studied Fine Art at Leeds University alongside future members of Gang of Four — and has spent nearly five decades proving that punk, country, folk as a founding member of the legendary Leeds punk band the Mekons.

Founded in 1977, the Mekons became one of the last original punk bands to remain continuously active, producing a string of critically acclaimed albums including Fear and Whiskey (1985), The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll (1989), Curse of the Mekons (1991), and I Love Mekons (1993) — records soaked in leftist politics, whiskey-stained wit, and an egalitarian chaos that made them one of the most fiercely beloved cult bands on the planet. Their relentless experimentation brought them a devoted following, as their extensive discography ranges across punk, folk, country, reggae and artful pastiches that combine all of the above.

After relocating to Chicago in the early 1990s, Langford co-founded the country-punk Waco Brothers, became a cornerstone of the Bloodshot Records scene, and launched the Pine Valley Cosmonauts — a revolving cast of Chicago musicians who backed Langford and others — cementing his reputation as the godfather of Chicago's alt-country underground.

But Jon Langford's story doesn't stop at the edge of the stage. Since moving to Chicago, he has become increasingly celebrated as a visual artist, exhibiting regularly at Yard Dog Folk Art Gallery and in galleries around the world. His paintings — eerie, accomplished works featuring blindfolded cowboys, skeletal country singers, and haunting depictions of Hank Williams as a Saint Sebastian-like martyr — have shown across the city, the country, and internationally, earning him recognition in both the fine art and music worlds that few artists in either sphere can claim. His artwork appears on album covers, book covers, and even Dogfish Head Brewery beer bottle labels. Using the pen name Chuck Death, Jon has also drawn the long-running syndicated comic strip Great Pop Things, a wickedly sharp satire of rock and roll history. Most recently, his collaboration with the Bright Shiners — a project with John Szymanski, Tamineh Gueramy, and Alice Spencer — has produced Where It Really Starts, widely regarded as some of his finest songwriting to date. In this episode, the Welsh rabble-rouser, punk pioneer, and painter extraordinaire pulls back the curtain on a career that has never once played it safe. It's a delightful catching up from one of punk rock's most mindful thinkers.

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