Castle of Horror Podcast

Tonight we’re chatting with Simon Stephenson, author of the new novel SOMETIMES PEOPLE DIE which comes out this month from Hanover Square Press and HarperCollins.

The new novel is about a young doctor in a struggling hospital inspired by Simon’s own experience as a physician. Amid the sick patients, over-worked staff and underfunded wards, the protagonist begins to realize: too many patients are dying and a murderer may be lurking in plain sight. This novel is not only a gripping page-turner, but reads like your favorite true crime podcast. Simon interweaves real-life medical murder cases throughout the novel as the book tumults toward its shocking conclusion.
Simon’s debut Set My Heart to Five was acquired by Working Title/Edgar Wright for movie adaptation.


Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Simon Stephenson is a physician-turned-writer, now resident in Los Angeles, California. His new novel. SOMETIMES PEOPLE DIE draws from his experiences as a medical resident. He is the author of the novel SET MY HEART TO FIVE (soon to be a Working Title film), and the memoir LET NOT THE WAVES OF THE SEA (Best First Book at Scottish Book Awards). As a screenwriter, he worked on PADDINGTON 2 and Pixar’s LUCA, and wrote Amazon’s THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy.

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Tony Salvaggio of the Castle of Horror Podcast is on the ground in Austin reporting on Fantastic Fest and chats with Jason on his first batch of movies that he highly recommends-- Smile, Blood Relatives, Venus and Shin Ultraman.

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This week we have a look at the classic film Son of Dracula as part of our march to Halloween. This is Episode #381!

Son of Dracula is a 1943 American horror film directed by Robert Siodmak with a screenplay based on an original story by his brother Curt Siodmak. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr., Louise Allbritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers, and Frank Craven. The film is set in the United States, where Count Alucard (Chaney Jr.) has just taken up residence. Katherine Caldwell (Allbritton), a student of the occult, becomes fascinated by Alucard and eventually marries him. Katherine begins to look and act strangely, leading her former romantic partner Frank Stanley (Paige) to suspect that something has happened to her. He gets help from Dr. Brewster (Craven) and psychologist Laszlo (J. Edward Bromberg) who come to the conclusion that Alucard is a vampire.
The film is the third in Universal's Dracula film series following Dracula's Daughter (1936). The film was made under different circumstances than the previous two entries in the series with a new Chairman of the Board working at Universal and several horror sequels being made since the success of the film Son of Frankenstein (1939). The film was initially being written by Curt Siodmak who was later replaced by Eric Taylor. Filming began on January 7, 1943 and concluded on February 2. Few documents related to the film's production survive from studio files or trade reports.

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This week we have a look at the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. This is Episode #379!
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox . It stars Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen. Shot in Eastmancolor and CinemaScope, it is considered one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s, a precursor of contemporary science fiction cinema. The characters and isolated setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the plot contains certain analogues to the play, leading many to consider it a loose adaptation.
Forbidden Planet pioneered several aspects of science fiction cinema. It was the first science fiction film to depict humans traveling in a faster-than-light starship of their own creation. It was also the first to be set entirely on another planet in interstellar space, far away from Earth. The Robby the Robot character is one of the first film robots that was more than just a mechanical "tin can" on legs; Robby displays a distinct personality and is an integral supporting character in the film. Outside science fiction, the film was groundbreaking as the first of any genre to use an entirely electronic musical score, courtesy of Bebe and Louis Barron.
Forbidden Planet's effects team was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 29th Academy Awards. In 2013, the picture was entered into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Tony Magistrale describes it as one of the best examples of early techno-horror.

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Tonight we’re chatting with Scott Friend, Director of To the Moon, which will be available on digital platforms on this month in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand from 1091 Pictures. To the Moon is written, directed, and stars Friend. The film will also have a one-night engagement special screening on Monday, September 19th at Nitehawk Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York.

A dysfunctional family study by way of psychological, psychedelic thriller that plays out under the weight of addiction and takes its three leads to darkly funny lows, the film takes the trope of the uninvited house guest and turns it into a metaphor for the fallout of trauma on the relationship between a young couple.

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Tony Salvaggio of the Castle of Horror Podcast is on the ground in Austin reporting on Fantastic Fest and chats with Castle of Horror host Jason on the second batch of new movies that Tony highly recommends: Vesper, Year of the Shark, Living With Chucky, Satanic Hispanics, and Everyone Will Burn. Tony will be attending about 35 movies for the Castle of Horror, so we'll be checking back with him for more updates.

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Tony Salvaggio of the Castle of Horror Podcast is on the ground in Austin reporting on Fantastic Fest and chats with Castle of Horror host Jason on the third batch of new movies that Tony highly recommends: Medusa Deluxe, Evil Eye, Project Wolf Hunting, Unidentified Objects, The Visitor from the Future, Hellraiser, and Leonor Will Never Die. Tony will be attending about 35 movies for the Castle of Horror, so we'll be checking back with him for more updates.

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Tony Salvaggio of the Castle of Horror Podcast is on the ground in Austin reporting on Fantastic Fest and chats with Castle of Horror host Jason on the fourth batch of new movies that Tony highly recommends:
Mister Organ
Kids Vs. Aliens
Triange of Sadness
Huesera
Disappear Completely
Decision to Leave
Joint Security Area
H4z4rd
Smoking Causes Coughing
Solomon King
Bad City

Finally, some thoughts on this year's Fantastic Fest overall.

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This week we have a look at the 1970 Hammer film Scars of Dracula as part of our march to Halloween. This is Episode #382!
Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films.
It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, along with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged by some critics, the film does restore a few elements of Bram Stoker's original character: the Count is introduced as an "icily charming host;" he has command over nature; and he is seen scaling the walls of his castle. It also gives Lee more to do and say than any other Hammer Dracula film except his first, 1958's Dracula.

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This week we have a look at the 2022 special from Disney+, Werewolf by Night. This is Episode #383!
Werewolf by Night is an American television special directed by Michael Giacchino and written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. It is the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and television series of the franchise. The special was produced by Marvel Studios, and follows a secret group of monster hunters as they compete for a powerful relic while going up against a dangerous monster.

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