The Deadly Spawn (1983) & Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor (1990)

A cult fan favorite of the 1980s low-budget monster boom, The Deadly Spawn is best remembered for one of the era's most distinctive creature designs. Its semi-sequel, Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor, is a scrappy and underrated follow-up that's still a lot of fun, and long overdue for a proper Blu-ray upgrade. Behind both films is Ted A. Bohus, a true multi-man of independent genre cinema.

Beyond producing and directing, Bohus has also been a vital chronicler of film history and technique through his magazines SPFX and Candid Monsters, publications that routinely reveal how much there still is to discover about movies we think we already know. In this episode, he sits down with us to talk about The Deadly Spawn, Metamorphosis, and the realities of working in the low-budget, independent filmmaking world, sharing more than a few hard-earned lessons for aspiring filmmakers along the way.

We also dive into his work as a publisher, including the deep-research, damn-near-a-book issues of Candid Monsters, which take exhaustive looks at some of our favorite classic films. So sit back and enjoy a conversation packed with great stories, sharp insights, and a genuine love for the messy, fascinating world of making movies and magazines.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Angry Red Planet (1959), The Alien Factor (1978), The Alligator People (1959), Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), Black Scorpion (1957), The Blob (1958), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Deadly Spawn (1983), Destination Fame (2012), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), Fiend (1980), Forbidden Planet (1956), Freaks (1932), Friday the 13th (1980), Gog (1954), Gorgo (1961), Hell on Earth (2010), Hideous Sun Demon (1958), The House of Haunted Hill (1959), The Invisible Boy (1957), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), King Kong (1933), Kronos (1957), The Maze (1953), Metamorphosis (1990), Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor (1990), Mighty Joe Young (1949), The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959), Nightbeast (1982), Primate (2025), Regenerated Man (1994), Son of Kong (1933), Star Wars (1977), Them (1954), The Tingler (1959), Tobor the Great (1954), Vampire Vixens from Venus (1995)

Another year in the books, which means it is time for our annual Wrap Up, where we not only go through our personal favorites of the year, but also some other standout films, as well as some others that came out in the last 12 months. For the second year in a row, it is astounding at some of the high quality pictures that have been getting released. From ones going straight to streaming services, to other wide release pictures, there have been plenty of fantastic titles out there. It really is a great time to be a horror fan.

It's a long episode, so make sure you have a pad and pen, because we cover a LOT here!

Titles mentioned in this episode.

28 Years Later (2025), 5150 Elm's Way (2009), Alien: Earth (2025), Alien: Covenant (2017), Alien: Romulus (2024), American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Barbarian (2022), Born of Fire (1987), The Bride of Hades (1968), Bring Her Back (2025), Buffalo '66 (1998), Clown in a Cornfield (2025), Companion (2025), The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025), Dangerous Animals (2025), The Dark Half (1993), A Dark Song (2016), Dead Ringers (1988), Dracula 3D (2012), Frankenstein (1931), Frankenstein (1994), Frankenstein (2025), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Good Boy (2025), The Gorge (2025), Green Inferno (2013), Halloween (2018), Heart Eyes (2025), Hell of a Summer (2023), I See You (2019), It Feeds (2025), The Long Walk (2025), Malignant (2021), Maniac (1980), Marshmallow (2025), The Monkey (2025), Monster Island (2024), The Monster of London City (1964), One Cut of the Dead (2017), Prometheus (2012), [REC] (2007), Rosario (2025), The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024), Running Man (2025), Saloum (2021), Shadow of God (2025), Silent Night Deadly Night (2025), Sinners (2025), Snowbeast (1977), Society (1989), Strange Harvest (2024), Talk to Me (2022), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Together (2025), Trouble Every Day (2001), The Ugly Stepsister (2025), V/H/S/ Halloween (2025), Vicious (2025), The Wailing (2016), Weapons (2025), When Evil Lurks (2023), Wolf Man (2025)

Every now and again, the horror genre produces a film that becomes a bona fide classic. In 1980, director William Lustig and co-writer and star Joe Spinell teamed up to make what may be the defining film of the 42nd Street grindhouse era: Maniac.

The film has it all, a serial-killing protagonist who scalps women while sobbing about his mother, buckets of gore from an early-career Tom Savini, and all the usual suspects of late-'70s Times Square: hookers, drugs, and utter despair.

A remake, directed by Franck Khalfoun, written by Alexandre Aja, and starring Elijah Wood, arrived in 2012. This time, the action shifts to Los Angeles and leans more heavily into the mannequins that served as surrogate girlfriends in the original. Does it rise to the occasion and meet its predecessor on its own terms? We dig into that question, and much more, on this Twice Told Tales edition of the show.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Avengers (2012), Basket Case (1982), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Fly (1986), Friday the 13th (1980), The Godfather (1972), Halloween (1978), High Tension (2003), Inferno (1980), Jaws (1975), Last Horror Film (1982), Last House on the Left (1972), Maniac (1980), Maniac (2012), Pieces (1982), Taxi Driver (1976), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Thing (1982), The Warriors (1979)