Circle City Supernatural (2023): Don’t Turn the Dial on this AM Radio Nightmare

I stumbled across Circle City Supernatural during a late-night Streaming Roulette session on Tubi. Usually, these “shot-in-my-basement” projects are sometimes Radioactive Dumpster Juice, and the worst films you’ll ever see, but this one made me stop the wheel.

Writer/Director J.P. Leck and lead actress Lindsay Leck (playing radio host Lindsay Mallyn) clearly didn’t have a Marvel budget, but they had something better: an actual vision. It’s a low-budget indie that, despite some minor problems, is a blast to watch.

The “Podcast” Problem (That Actually Works)

Let’s be honest here. This movie is basically a podcast with visuals. It’s a lot of “telling, not showing,” which usually makes me “nope the hell out” within ten minutes. Lindsay takes a call, the caller narrates, and we see the story play out on screen without dialogue.

If you closed your eyes, you’d still get the whole story. But if you keep them open, you get to see some of the most creative, DIY monster-making. It reminds me of when I used to turn my house into a haunted house when my kid was little. My neighbors hated me for what I did to the outside. Thank God they didn’t see inside.

In this film, we’re talking fuzzy snake creatures and a blood-drinking plant monster with a mouth made out of what looks like a Tonka toy. I’d rather watch somebody get creative with a toy box than watch another $200 million movie throw CGI sludge at the screen for two hours.

From Red Doors to Icky Trickies

The segments hit that sweet spot of Bruce Coville-style YA horror. It’s creepy, quirky, and fun. You’ve got a red door that appears in a field (“Do Not Disturb”), a zombie in a hazmat suit being chased by a killer robot (“Class Dismissed”), and my personal favorite, “Les is Moore,” involving an old house and some “critters” I won’t spoil for you.

The movie even gets meta. In one segment, “An Honest Review,” a character tells Lindsay she’s actually in a movie and critiques the “telling, not showing” nature of the film itself. When a director is willing to roast his own limitations, you know you’re watching a true Reel Rebel.

The “Endless Elsewhere” Ecosystem

It turns out this isn’t just a one-off movie. J.P. Leck has built an entire “Endless Elsewhere” ecosystem with podcasts, books, and a YouTube channel. It feels like a real community project where everyone is having a really good time. It’s the kind of horror you can actually watch with your kids without scarring them for life, but it’s weird enough to keep the adults from checking their phones.

The Verdict: Imagination over Budget

Circle City Supernatural is a reminder that you don’t need a studio to build a mythos. You just need a microphone, some creative friends, and a total refusal to wait for permission. It’s different, it’s quirky, and it’s a perfect “lean-back” anthology for a rainy night on the Free TV Frontier.

🔥 Final Verdict: WATCHABLE. Circle City Supernatural is homemade supernatural Fire: weird stories, DIY monsters, and enough imagination to make you forget nobody had a truckload of cash to throw at it.

• ➝ 🧠 PTC Note: The nightmare doesn’t end here. J.P. Leck has already dropped Circle City Supernatural 2  — which I’ve started scouting over on the Fawesome app. Initial findings? It leans harder into sci-fi than horror, and you can already see the “Rebel” production value leveling up. Stay tuned for the full verdict once I finish the mission. A third installment of the franchise is currently in the works as well.
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