Episodes
Castle Talk: Fernando González Gómez, co-director of The Passenger (In Theaters June 3)
THE PASSENGER (original title: La Pasajera) stars Ramiro Blas (“La Fuga”), Cecilia Suárez (“The House of Flowers”), Paula Gallego (“Cuéntame”) and Cristina Alcázar (Cachorro). The film was co-directed by Raúl Cerezo (feature film debut) and Fernando González Gómez (Zombie World 2) based on a screenplay written by Luis Sánchez-Polack (Como Caido Del Cielo).
SYNOPSIS: A group of strangers sharing a ride have their trip interrupted when the driver hits a woman hiking in the dark of night. They decide to help her, but quickly learn that something is wrong and that they shouldn’t have let her in at all.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: Leanna Renee Hieber on her upcoming contemporary Gothic romance novel, Ghosts of the Forbidden
Hieber’s work includes the timeslip novellas in the Time Immemorial trilogy; the futuristic, paranormal novellas in the Dark Nest Chronicles, beginning with her Prism Award–winning space opera novella Dark Nest; and the Gothic gaslamp fantasy books in the Strangely Beautiful, Eterna Files, and Spectral City series. (Plus she has written a couple of essays on Gothic fiction here, “Penny Dreadful’s Betrayal and the Complexity of Feminism in the Gothic Tradition” and “The Gothic as a Canary in Fear’s Coal Mine.”)
Check out the cover reveal here: https://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2022/05/cover-reveal-for-ghosts-of-the-forbidden-by-leanna-renee-hieber/
Find the book and pre-order at Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3Ny53ny
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: Julia Lynn Rubin, author of the "Queer Midsommar meets Yellowjackets" thriller PRIMAL ANIMALS
About the book:
Midsommar meets "Yellowjackets" in this new YA horror novel where a girl gets sucked into a secret society at an elite summer program, with deadly consequences.
Protect the girls
Arlee Gold is anxious about spending the summer at the college prep Camp Rockaway—the same camp her mother attended years ago, which her mother insists will help give Arlee a “fresh start” after her struggles the past year; that it will “change her life.” Little does Arlee know that once she steps foot on the manicured grounds, this will prove to be true in horrifying ways.
Even though the girls in her cabin are awesome—and she’s developing a major crush on the girl who sleeps in the bunk above her—the other campers seem to be wary of Arlee, unwilling to talk to her or be near her, which only ramps up her paranoia. When she’s tapped to join a strange secret society, Arlee thinks this will be her shot at fitting in...until her new "sisters" ask her to do the unthinkable, putting her life, and the life of her new crush, in perilous danger.
Author Bio:
JULIA LYNN RUBIN received her MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from The New School in 2017. A lover of film, psychology, and literature, Julia has been writing creatively since first grade, and her short stories have appeared in publications such as the North American Review. She currently lives in Brooklyn, where she is freelancing while working on her next book. Julia is the author of Burro Hills and Trouble Girls.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
The Night Flier (Podcast/Discussion)
The Night Flier (also known as Stephen King's The Night Flier) is a 1997 American horror film based on the 1988 short story of the same title[3] by Stephen King.[4] It was directed by Mark Pavia and starred Miguel Ferrer and Julie Entwisle.[5]
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: James Byrne, author of the new thriller The Gatekeeper
The Gatekeeper (releasing June 7th 2022) The gatekeeper of the title is Desmond Aloysius Limerick—aka Dez—a retired mercenary. When the California hotel Dez is staying in is attacked with ruthless precision by a team of highly-skilled mercenaries—out to kidnap the legal counsel of a military contractor—Dez is a one-man spanner in the works, foiling the attempt. Having saved Petra Alexandris from the kidnappers, he sticks around to help her with another corporate problem and the two fall down a rabbit hole so full of adventure (think military coups), intrigue, and nonstop action it’s worthy of Bourne, Reacher, or Orphan X.
James Byrne is the pseudonym for an author who has worked for more than twenty years as a journalist and in politics.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: Jim Mahoney, Writer and Lead of Gatlopp (Out June 23)
Check out the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht4vidrbk2A
The film stars Jim Mahoney (Klaus), Emmy Raver-Lampman ("The Umbrella Academy"), Jon Bass (Baywatch), Sarunas J. Jackson ("Insecure"), and Shelley Hennig ("Teen Wolf”).
In GATLOPP, a group of old friends reunites for a nostalgic evening of fun and games after a decade apart. After one too many, they decide to play a drinking game, but it’s quickly revealed that this game comes with supernatural stakes. Mischief leads to mayhem, and the group realizes that if they can’t come together to win the game by sunrise, they will be forced to play for eternity - in hell.
GATLOPP was written by Jim Mahoney (Klaus) and directed by Alberto Belli ("The House of Flowers").
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Atragon (Podcast/Discussion)
The film was released in Japan on December 22, 1963, and in the United States in 1965 via American International Pictures. A two-episode anime OVA titled Super Atragon, based on the same novels, was produced by Phoenix Entertainment in 1995.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Son of Godzilla (Podcast/Discussion)
Son of Godzilla (怪獣島の決戦 ゴジラの息子, Kaijū Shima no Kessen: Gojira no Musuko, lit. Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son) is a 1967 Japanese kaiju film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the Godzilla franchise. It stars Tadao Takashima, Akira Kubo, Akihiko Hirata, and Beverly Maeda, with Hiroshi Sekita, Seiji Onaka, and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, and Marchan the Dwarf as Minilla.
Son of Godzilla received a theatrical release in Japan on December 16, 1967, and was released directly to television in the United States in 1969 through the Walter Reade Organization.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: Ava Reid, author of Juniper & Thorn (Out 6/21)
Reid expertly weaves themes of femininity, desire, oppression, and progress into the dark fantasy of JUNIPER & THORN. Marlinchen and her sisters are the last true witches in the terrifying city of Oblya, where magic has given way to industry. Though their tyrannical, xenophobic father keeps them sequestered from the outside world, they sneak out at night to explore the city, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who captures her heart. As Marlinchen’s feelings deepen for Sevas, the threat of her father’s rage and magic grows; at the same time, a monster begins leaving dead bodies in its wake. Marlinchen must draw upon her magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.
It’s a haunting horror fantasy tale with a layered, complex heroine – amid gruesome twists and turns, Reid crafts Marlinchen’s story with compassion, exploring her trauma and building her tender romance with Sevas. And just as she did in her debut, Reid examines nationalism through the lens of magic and fantasy, combining her Ukrainian heritage and academic background to craft the city of Oblya, based on the port city of Odessa in Ukraine, and explore what it means for a city to develop and progress.
JUNIPER & THORN has already been described as “darkly enchanting” in a starred Publishers Weekly review. A full list of content warnings is available here. I can’t wait for you to dive in and hope you’ll consider covering in June.
Ava Reid was born in Manhattan and raised right across the Hudson River in Hoboken, but currently lives in Palo Alto. She has a degree in political science from Barnard College, focusing on religion and ethnonationalism.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle Talk: Erica Friedman, Author of By Your Side: The First Hundred Years of Yuri
About the Author
Erica Friedman is the founder of Yuricon community, and was the first publisher of Yuri manga in English, with ALC Publishing. She holds a Masters Degree in Library Science and a B.A. in Comparative Literature, and is a full-time researcher for a Fortune 100 company. She has lectured at dozens of conventions and presented at film festivals, notably the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. She has participated in an academic lecture series at MIT, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Harvard University, Kanagawa University, and others. She has edited manga for JManga, Seven Seas and Udon Entertainment, most recently Riyoko Ikeda's epic historical classic, The Rose of Versailles. Erica has written about Yuri for Japanese literary journal Eureka, Animerica magazine, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dark Horse, and contributed to Forbes, Slate, Huffington Post, Hooded Utilitarian, The Mary Sue, Anime Herald, and Anime News Network online. She has written news and event reports, interviews Yuri creators and reviews Yuri anime, manga and related media on her blog Okazu since 2002 and is the author of By Your Side: The First 100 Year of Yuri Anime and Manga, coming out in June 2022 from Journey Press.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.
Castle of Horror Podcast Ratings
Overall
Overall rating of the media
Atmosphere
How immersive and tense is the atmosphere
Story
Quality of the storyline and plot
Production Quality
Overall production value
Sound Design
Audio quality and sound effects
Entertainment Value
How entertaining is it
Educational Value
Learning and informational value