Castle of Horror Podcast

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1966 film Kill Baby Kill!  This is Episode #474! Kill, Baby, Kill (Italian: Operazione paura, lit. 'Operation Fear') is a 1966 Italian Gothic supernatural horror film directed by Mario Bava and starring Giacomo Rossi Stuart and Erika Blanc. Written by Bava, Romano Migliorini, and Roberto Natale, the film focuses on a small European village in the early 1900s that is being terrorized by the ghost of a murderous young girl.John calls this movie "the most gothic film ever made."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we have a look at the 1951 film SCROOGE.  This is Episode #473! Scrooge (released as A Christmas Carol in the United States) is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film and an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843). It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It also features Michael Hordern, Kathleen Harrison, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Mervyn Johns, Clifford Mollison, Jack Warner, Ernest Thesiger and Patrick Macnee. Peter Bull narrates portions of Charles Dickens's words at the beginning and end of the film, and appears on-screen as a businessman.Upon its initial release, the movie was largely ignored by critics, and reactions from those that did watch it were varied. Nevertheless, the movie attracted a strong following on television, and subsequent reviews have been significantly more positive, with many critics considering it one of the best adaptions of the novel, with general praise for the performances, particularly Sim's portrayal of Scrooge.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Vanessa F. Penney, author of The Witch of Willow Sound, distributed by Simon & Schuster.  The book is a Canadian best-seller, a feminist gothic tale with a tough-as-nails female protagonist who must find her elderly aunt, long suspected of being a witch.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we are joined by the Monster Movie Happy Hour Podcast for a look at Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film FRANKENSTEIN.  This is Episode #472! Frankenstein is a 2025 American gothic drama film produced, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as the Creature, and Mia Goth as Elizabeth, with Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz in the supporting roles. The story follows the life of Victor Frankenstein, an egotistical scientist whose experiment in creating new life results in dangerous consequences when his monstrous creation comes to life. Frankenstein had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2025. It began a limited theatrical release on October 17, 2025, with a global digital release by Netflix on November 7. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Elordi's performance receiving acclaim.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1965 film Planet of the Vampires.  This is Episode #471!Planet of the Vampires (Italian: Terrore nello spazio, lit. 'Terror in Space'; released in the UK as The Demon Planet) is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed and co-written by Mario Bava, produced by Fulvio Lucisano, and starring Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell. The screenplay was based on an Italian-language science fiction short story, Renato Pestriniero's "One Night of 21 Hours.” The film follows the horrific experiences of the crew members of two giant spaceships that have crash-landed on a forbidding, unexplored planet. The disembodied inhabitants of the world possess the bodies of the crew who died during the crash, and use the animated corpses to stalk and kill the remaining survivors.The film was co-produced by Italian International Film and American International Pictures (AIP), with some financing provided by Spain's Castilla Cooperativa Cinematográfica. AIP released Planet of the Vampires as the supporting film on a double feature with Daniel Haller's Die, Monster, Die! (1965).Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.