Can Hercules (Reg Park) thwart the evil machinations of usurper King Lico (Christopher Lee!) in time to save his beloved Deianira (Leonora Ruffo) from spending the rest of eternity as a ... zombie?! Swords and sandals once again meet the living dead in this 1961 Italian fantasy adventure: Hercules in the Haunted World. Hercules and his "helpful" friends Theseus and Telemaco enter Hades to save Deianara, but will they ever escape? Andy, John, and Producer Brad done their sandals and encounter not one, but two different types of zombies in the movie that inspired Arnold Schwarzenneger to become a body builder.

SHOW NOTES:

Theatrical release date:

November 16, 1961 (Italy)

April, 1964 (US)

Reg Park official fan site

Reg Park Obituary

Reg Park's influence on Arnold Schwarzenneger

Christopher Lee interview

Christopher Lee obituary

D'Aulaire's Greek Mythology

Mario Bava's legacy

Corti, Roberto. Italian Gothic Horror Films: 1957-1969

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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When a lawyer arrives at a gloomy estate to settle a will, he finds that his client is already dead... but his collection of plague-ridden severed limbs is still very much active! Legendary scream queen Barbara Steele dominates this Italian gothic horror film that features a spooky castle, vengeance from beyond the grave, and just maybe a few zombies. Join John, Andy, and Brad as they face off against "Terror-Creatures from the Grave"!

SHOW NOTES:

Italian release date: June 23, 1965

US release date: May 16, 1967

AFI Catalog entry for Terror-Creatures from the Grave

Curti, Roberto. Italian Gothic Horror Films: 1957-1969.

Castello Chigi

Flop House episode on Giallo films.

Multiplex Overthruster episode on Yor: Hunter from the Future.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Holy propoganda, Batman! Before the iconic Batmobile, before the Shark Repellant, before the showdown against Superman... Batman and Robin were featured in a wartime movie serial where they battled a Japanese spymaster and his zombie minions. Will the Dynamic Duo prevail? Can the Zombie Strains team make it through 3 hours of racist propoganda? John, Andy, and Producer Brad don their cowls and patrol the dark streets of Gotham City to find out.

SHOW NOTES

The Batman serial original theatrical release date: July 16, 1943

An Evening with Batman and Robin release date: 1965

Michael G. Wilson biography

J. Carol Naish family history

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Following hot on the heels of 28 Years Later, director Nia DaCosta's sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple picks up right where the first film ended. Spike has been saved from the infected by some colorful characters, but are they friends? John and Andy sneak out of the Zombie Strains lab to the movie theater to see new a new film that reflects on humanity, empathy, and torture horror all at the same time. Has a zombie movie ever had this much empathy for the nominal villains of the story? Listen to this spoiler filled episode to find out.

SHOW NOTES:

US Theatrical release date: January 16, 2026

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

Additional music by Elarasound.

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In a quaint English village, the last remnants of humanity have gathered. But what hope does a ragtag band of survivors have against marauding alien robots and their zombie slaves? When John, Andy, and Brad explore The Earth Dies Screaming (1964), they find a low-budget movie that lays a startling amount of groundwork for future zombie apocalypses.

SHOW NOTES:

US Theatrical release date: October 14, 1964

Virginia Field's New York Time's obituary

Elizabeth Lutyens obituary

Elizabeth Lutyens on Spotify

Elizabeth Lutyens on Apple Music

Convair XFY-1 Pogo

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

Additional music by Elarasound.

www.pond5.com

Additional voice work by Russell Bentley.

Contact:

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Radioactive waste meets teenage rebellion in THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH! Grab your surfboard and hit the sandy beaches of Connecticut with John, Andy, and Brad as they brave a surf-rock nightmare featuring dozens of bikinis, a slumber party massacre, and lots of hip music by the Del-Aires.

SHOW NOTES

Theatrical Release Date: April, 1964

Del Tenney obituary

Alan V. Iselin obituary

Errera, Rob. Becker Comes Alive: A Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer's Touching True Tale of Music, Murder, and Monsters

The Horror of Party Beach comic book

1965 Academy Award Winners

Weaver, Tom. Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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After an experimental weapon devastates Tasmania, Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley) joins a body retrieval unit to find her missing husband. There's just one little catch--and you've probably guessed what it is, since this is a zombie movie podcast. Where does this melancholy tale of loss and regret belong in the evolutionary tree of zombie cinema? John and Andy break into the Zombie Strains lab late at night to put WE BURY THE DEAD (2026) under the microscope. (The first half of this episode is spoiler-free; we clearly state when the spoiler discussion starts.)

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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A mysterious planet is hurtling toward Earth. An alien spacecraft with a zombie-creating ray has landed in the Scottish moors. And those might not actually be the villains in this Atomic Age cautionary tale! John, Andy, and Producer Brad head back to 1951 to take stock of THE MAN FROM PLANET X, a zombie film that manages to rise above its shoestring budget and remind us who the real monsters are.

Show Notes:

Theatrical release date: April 27, 1951

AFI Catalog entry

1952 Academy Award Winners

LA Time obituary for Robert Clarke

NY Times obituary for Margaret Field

NY Times obituary for Harold Gould

NY Time obituary for William Schallert

Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers, Tom Weaver

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

Additional music by Elarasound.

www.pond5.com

Additional voice work by Russell Bentley.

Contact:

zombiestrainspodcast@gmail.com

www.zombiestrainspodcast.com

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