Zombie Strains

While Producer Brad is away on special assignment, John and Andy continue to break the rules by talking about zombie movies out of order. In this episode we talk about the biggest zombie events of 2025 - The Last of Us Season 2 (SPOILERS!) and 28 Years Later (NO spoilers). Plus, Andy reports on his participation in an actual voodoo ceremony.

Season 2 of Zombie Strains is almost upon us. In this special episode, John and Andy dissect the terrors and anxieties of the 1950s in the Zombie Strains lab. Our goal is to predict how the next wave of zombie movies will exploit the hidden fears of this most paranoid of decades. Join us as we brace for a brand new decade of horror!

Multiplex Overthruster is a podcast dedicated to the summer movie's of the 80s. It is hosted by Javier Grillo-Marxuach (writer of Lost, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, The Witcher, and creator of The Middleman), Paul Alvarado-Dykstra (co-founder of Fantastic Fest, the leading genre film festival in the US), and produced by Zombie Strain's Producer Brad. Enjoy this episode on Poltergeist, the 1982 film directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg. This ingenious phantasmagoria features beautiful analog VFX wizardry by ILM, a refreshingly functional family, and one of the greatest expository monologues in genre cinema.

You can follow Mulitplex Overthruster here.

We made it! We survived the first three decades of zombies--22 movies in all. What did we learn? And what's coming next? In this special season 1 wrap-up episode, John, Andy, and Producer Brad answer listener feedback, take a surprise zombie trivia quiz, reflect on the journey so far... and prepare for the horror to come as we strike out into the world of 1950s zombies.

John, Andy, and Producer Brad have time for one last trip to the Caribbean to see a movie they missed the first time around; 1938’s The Devil’s Daughter. In this loose remake of team favorite Ouanga the action moves from Haiti to Jamaica, and from voodoo to obeah. How does this film stand up to the original? Join us in the lab as we break it down.

US Theatrical Release Date: December 7, 1939

Movie Poster

UCLA Archives article on race films

Horror Movies of 1939

1940 Academy Awards

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Let's welcome a brand new horror legend to the zombie genre: Boris Karloff, playing a wrongly-executed man brought back to life by mad science. You'll be as surprised as we were by this somber, atmospheric tale of justice from beyond the grave. Whether this is truly a zombie movie is a matter of debate (and we do debate it!), but you won't regret taking a stroll with John, Andy, Producer Brad, and The Walking Dead (no, not that Walking Dead).

US Theatrical Release Date: March 14, 1936

Movie Poster

New York Times Review

1936 Horror Movies

1937 Academy Awards

Films with actor's names in title

National Film Registry

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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The Zombie Strains team goes waaaay back to 1919 and the dawn of cinema to watch J'accuse, a French zombie movie. Don’t worry, it is not as bad as that sounds. Actually, it is really good! The team skipped this one initially, but now that we have circled back to watch it… Is this the zombie horde John, Andy, and Producer Brad have been looking for all this time?!

French Release Date: April 25, 1919

US Release Date: October 9, 1921

Movie Poster

1921 New York Times review

Horror Films of 1919

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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So much awaits us in the Valley of the Zombies: an undead mortician with very specific medical needs! A desperate car chase centered around a malfunctioning radio! And best of all, a chilling new zombie master (Ian Keith) who just might rival the great Bela Lugosi with his scenery-chewing menace. Join John, Andy, and Producer Brad as they explore a fascinating off-shoot of the zombie genre that pulls in elements of vampire horror.

US Release Date: May 24, 1946

US Theatrical Release Poster

1946 US Domestic Box Office

1947 Academy Awards

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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Legendary comedy duo Abbott and Costello bravely (?) stumble into a monster mash in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein! This movie may not feature a zombie, but it's too important a genre influence to not investigate--and after Zombies on Broadway, it's time to see horror comedy done right. Zombie Strains hall-of-famer Bela Lugosi is joined by Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.) with an "invisible" cameo by Vincent Price. Join John, Andy, and Producer Brad for our most monstrous episode yet.

US Theatrical Release Date: June 15, 1948

Movie Poster

1949 Academy Awards

Abbott & Costello US War Bonds Tour

Bela Lugosi Bio

Boris Karloff NYT Obit

NYTimes Admits Karloff Error

Kickstarter Score Campaign

National Registry Of Films

In Memoriam - Robert Lees

LATimes article on Robert Lees Murder

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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PR men Jerry and Mike have to find a “genuine zombie” before the opening of the hot new nightclub, the Zombie Hut. If they don’t, the mobster who hired them is going to put them on ice. It's a tough job. But is it as tough as sitting through Zombies on Broadway? John, Andy, and Producer Brad aim to find out.

US Theatrical Release Date: May 1,1945

Movie Poster

1945 Domestic Box Office

1946 Academy Awards

1945 Horror Films

AFI Archives

Theme music composed by Neil Dube.

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