The Zombie Strains crew have hit the motherlode of zombie firsts! Invisible Invaders brings together all kinds of famous and familiar zombie tropes in one film: a zombie-created apocalypse, heroes taking refuge in a science bunker, convincing zombie make-up, and a truly compelling tough moral choice.

The story follows a sequence that will be familiar to any fan of modern zombie movies, as a small group of survivors hunkers down in a shelter to figure out how to stop a global zombie menace (that was instigated by invaders from space). Tensions run high, and one of our party snaps under the pressure. Join John, Andy, and Brad as they push the Zombie Strains lab equipment to its limit as they break down all the zombie firsts in this movie.

Show Notes:

Invisible Invaders movie poster

National Geographic article on the American "uranium gold rush."

MIT Press Article on Uranium Rush, a game encouraging families to prospect for uranium.

History of Detectron, the company that made the geiger counter seen in Invisible Invaders.

List of movies with underground bunkers.

Hear Emmy-winning writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach discuss renting caves for tv shows on the Sword and the Sorcerer episode of Multiplex Overthruster.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Jonathan Drake suffers under an ancient curse! His cruel colonial forbears massacred a South American tribe, and the immortal zombie survivors will not rest until Jonathan is dead. And by dead, we mean injected with an ancient poison, decapitated, and his head shrunken in the lab of the scenery-chewing villain Dr. Emil Zurich (Henry Daniell). Will Jonathan, his daughter Allison, and Lt. Rowan stop the zombies before the curse strikes again? Join John, Andy, and Brad as they encounter two unique zombies, surprisingly gruesome special effects, and more semi-competent police work in The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake.

Show Notes:

Movie Poster

AFI Catalog entry for The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake

Eduard Franz obituary

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Sally (Vera Day) is living day to day, just trying to get by. But things take a turn for the sinister when she crosses paths with mad scientist Dr. Moran (George Coulouris). Dr. Moran has plans for the women in his life—plans that involve feeding them to a carnivorous Amazonian plant in order to steal their life essence, extract a serum from the devil tree, and use that serum to bring the dead back to life! Will he succeed? Will Sally agree to marry a jerk she just met the previous day? Does the Devil Tree's diet truly consist of women only, or is that a decision Dr. Moran is making for it? At least some of these questions get answered when Andy, John, and Producer Brad grab their Pulsometers and come face to face with 1958’s Womaneater.

Show Notes:

Italian style haircuts of the 1950s.

Marpessa Dawn obituary from the New York Times

James Bond forum trying to ID the Spectre agents in Thunderball, including the one played by Patrick Forbes-Robertson.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Some treasures are best left undisturbed—especially when they're guarded by ancient curses. But if the treasure hunters in Zombies of Mora Tau were smart, we wouldn't get a horde of underwater zombies, a band of backstabbing scoundrels, the world's toughest grandma, and the legendary Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) as a scheming femme fatale. Don your deep sea diving suit and join John, Andy, and Producer Brad off the coast of Africa, where we discover a horror film that moves the zombie genre forward in surprising ways.

US Theatrical Release Date: February 19, 1957

Zombies of Mora Tau movie poster

AFI Catalog entry for Zombies of Mora Tau

Variety obituary for screenwriter Bernard Gordon

WGA post on corrected Hollywood Blacklist credits.

Consumer's Guide to Dietary Supplements and Alternative Medicines by W. Marvin Davis with introduction about Allison Hayes.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Who could possibly survive an expedition to “the weird jungle of cobra plants that feed on women... and rip men apart”? Boris Karloff plays a skeptical scientist who journeys into the heart of darkness alongside a brooding '50s adventurer, a shifty gangster, a plucky assistant, and a zombie. Grab your pith helmet and machete and join John, Andy, and Producer Brad as they brave the unknown terrors of Voodoo Island.

Show Notes:

US Theatrical Release Date: February, 1957

Voodoo Island movie poster

AFI Catalog entry for Voodoo Island

History of the theremin as told by Andrew Hickey on his podcast A History of Rock in 500 Songs

Queer Cinema Archive article on Voodoo Island and the queer-coded character played by Jean Engstrom.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Creature with the Atom Brain takes the science of zombie film to a whole new level. This movie is packed with exciting zombie firsts: atomic-powered zombies, rampaging zombie hordes (finally!), a city put under martial law to contain the zombie threat, and very cheap zombie make-up. Andy, John, and Producer Brad have their hands full sorting through all the zombie goodness on this sci-fi horror B movie.

Show Notes:

Mommie Dearest boardroom scene with S. John Launer (Captain Dave Harris in Creature with the Atom Brain).

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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The Zombie Strains crew stumbles across an unexpected delight in 1953’s El Monstruo Resucitado (The Revived Monster), the first Mexican zombie film! Set in Czechoslovakia and dripping with atmosphere, this film tells the story of a resourceful journalist (Miroslava) who finds herself tangled up in the hopes and hatreds of a hideously deformed mad scientist with a chip on his shoulder, a brain-transference device in his basement, and a fresh corpse ready to be revived as a murderous zombie. The lights will be on all night in the Zombie Strains Lab as we dissect this thoughtful thriller.

Show notes:

"Where to begin with Mexican Macabre cinema" BFI article

Notable horror films of 1953

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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The Zombie Strains crew comes up against Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in this remake of the delightful The Ghost Breakers (1940). George Marshal directed both the original and this 1950s update. The team was eager to explore the new horrors Marshall would concoct this time around, but we were unprepared for the terror of... Jerry Lewis’s performance. Scared Stiff may feature the least impressive zombie we've seen yet, but the Zombie Strains crew found a few gems--including the possible inspiration for the title of a 1980s horror-comedy favorite.

List of films remade by the original director.

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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