Mystery Photo 10-12

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How are we surviving? Getting some good movies in so far this month? Hopefully you are taking advantage of the season and enjoying a few good harmless scares! I’m trying, but damn it sure seems like I’m busier now than usual, for some strange reason! Looking forward to heading to PA this weekend for Monster Bash, which is always a great time. But let’s get to business. Last week’s photo was from Georges Franju’s Les yeux sans visage aka Eyes Without a Face (1960), which is just an incredible film. Even more surprising since around that time, horror was not a genre the French dabbled in too much. Congrats to the following who correctly identified the film: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Dada Debaser, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Mike Shields, and Vincent Simonelli. Well done!

On to this week’s pictorial puzzle! Take a good look at another black and white classic, or at least a very important title. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And good luck!

Horror of Dracula at the Music Box

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On October 28th, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, fans will have the opportunity to witness one of the reasons that Hammer Films, along with actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, become international stars in the movie world. While their previous film Curse of Frankenstein broke the ice, Horror of Dracula showed it wasn’t a fluke. 

But now, not only is it just being screened on the big screen, this is a version nobody has seen before, recently restored in 4K that also has footage that had been believed lost for more than half a century! You will get to see all of the Count, blood and all, in glorious color like you’ve never seen before! All on the big screen at the Music Box.

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Celebrate Wes Craven in Cleveland with Joseph Maddrey

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Fans of Wes Craven that are near the Cleveland area on Oct. 29th, head over to the Cleveland Public Library for The Hometown Story of Wes Craven! Jospeh Maddrey, author of The Soul of Wes Craven (read our review HERE) will be there for this presentation. The event promises “a night of fall festivities, refreshments, giveaways, and fascinating stories about the legendary filmmaker.” Maddrey will be on hand after the discussion to sign copies of his book, as well as having a few copies there to sell in case you haven’t picked it up yet. Which, if you’re a fan of Craven, then I would highly recommend it. You will learn much more about him.

It will be at the Cleveland Public Library, located at 6530 Lexington Ave, Cleveland, Ohio, on Oct. 29th, going from 5pm to 8pm.

Kryptic 2026 World Tour Ending Soon

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We’ve only got 2 more events coming up before we call the 2026 World Tour complete. The first one is the last actual convention, which is the Monster Bash Conference in Cranberry Township, PA, which is next weekend, Oct. 16th-18th. We always have a blast there and looking forward to once again get to hang out there. Plus, the fact their Mexican Movie Night on Friday is Ladrón de cadáveres aka The Body Snatcher from 1957, has got me really excited. Might have to get a nap in there somewhere so I can make sure I stay awake for it! You can find out all the details about the show by clicking HERE.

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Scare-A-Thon 2026

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Our good friend Dr. AC aka Aaron Christensen has started this year’s Scare-A-Thon. Each year, he has picked a charity to raise money and awareness for, collecting donations while he watches a ton of scary movies! This year, the charity of choice is Impact, which is “a non-profit organization dedicated to ending sexual violence and harassment through empowerment-based self-defense training for women, girls, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities, providing them with the tools needed to prevent, minimize, and stop violence.” Not only is this something really important to all of us, but especially to AC because he is directly involved in Impact, helping those to help themselves.

October is a time for scary movies, but what is not scary is the violence being put on women, girls, LGBTQ+, and all the other groups that need a little help in overcoming the violence they are seeing. And this program directly helps that. So, while we’re taking our time this month enjoying our favorite season, maybe take a few minutes and a few dollars and give a donation to the Impact program, which you can do by clicking HERE. As Aaron says, maybe one day saying NO will be enough, but until then, we all need to do what we can in helping those in need, and the simple need to feel safe in their own communities. Any amount is greatly appreciated and helps Impact continuing to do what they do.

For more info on Impact Chicago, just click HERE. You can also follow the progress of what AC is doing all month, aside from drying himself crazy with all these YouTube shows and discussions that he’s hosting, through his Facebook page HERE.

DtH Episode 132: Morbid Pleasures: Inside the Grand Guignol with David Gregory

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From 1897 until 1962, the Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris shows scenes of violence on stage, from decapitations, slashings, rape, eye-gouging, and plenty of bloodletting, all in view of the audiences that paid to witness such acts of depravity. The crowds that attended the small theatre ranged from the poor commonfolk to royalty from around the world. The film world soon followed the themes from the blood-soaked theater, bringing those images of violence to the silver screen. It shows us that there was always an audience for this time of “entertainment.”

Now, a new box set coming from Severin films, called , with 12 discs that has more than 80 hours of content, containing 60 films  dating from 1895 to 2025. This is truly a history lesson for horror fans, getting the opportunity to see just how far back these twisted tales were shown to audiences! And to help discuss this new set, we have Severin’s own David Gregory get down in the blood and guts of this set, the Grand Guignol, while disucssing a few other fun topics as well!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Mystery Photo 10-5

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Welcome to October! It’s the month we’ve been waiting for! No more days of feeling you’re walking into an oven, not to mention being able to bust out our favorite horror hoodies! And of course, it’s the one month that we almost become “normal”. Then again, we all know how “boring” normal can get… But let’s get to business. Our photo from last week was from Frank LaLoggia’s directorial debut, Fear No Evil (1981), which is coming out in 4k from Vinegar Syndrome. And if you have seen LaLoggia’s second film, Lady in White (1988), also released in 4k by Vinegar Syndrome, then this month is the PERFECT time for it. It’s a great Halloween themed ghost story, fun for all ages. But we only had 3 correct answers sent in, Kevin Hart, Gary Miller and William Wilson. So, congrats to you both!

This week’s photo is a little bit more of a classic. You may or may not recognize the lady in the photo, but I’m sure you know of at least one of her films she made later in her career. But see if you can guess this one. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And good luck!

Marjoe Gortner – Rest in Peace

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You couldn’t have grown up in the 70’s and ’80s, watching a lot of TV and movies, and not know at least the face of Marjoe Gortner. My first memory of his work was Earthquake (1974), which happened to be his first feature film that he acted in, which he turned out to be not so nice of a guy. But then between Food of the Gods (1976), Starcrash (1978), and Mausoleum (1983), and that crazy curly hair, he was always memorable. But sadly, it was announced that he had passed away at the age of 82.

Gortner had a very unusual upbringing, be a child evangelist at the ripe age of 4 years old and eventually had an Oscar winning documentary made on his life. But once he got into acting, his contributions to helping people and charities never stopped. Some of his performances were a bit over the top, but that probably came from Gortner’s own over the top personality. But no matter what, he always gave us entertainment. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Gone, but not forgotten.

And Even More Books

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I know. My Christmas list is going to be HUGE with all these titles coming out. Granted, I may need to add a new bookshelf as well. And maybe a place to put it too… But anyway, I recently came across these two titles from BearManor Media and since they are both on some Universal classics, I knew I had to post about them. And being they are written by Tom Weaver and Gregory William Mank, you know they are going to be packed full of great information.

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Movie Review: The Lost Patrol

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(1934)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny, J.M. Kerrigan, Billy Bevan, Alan Hale

Here we go again. Another seemingly non-horror title, directed by none other than John Ford. So why are we reviewing this? Simple. Because it stars Boris Karloff, only a year before he appears in The Bride of Frankenstein. And the fact that not only is Karloff exceptional here, but it is also a really good and intense movie. It’s a simple story about an army patrol lost in the Mesopotamian desert during World War I, after their young commanding officer is shot by an unseen sniper, taking their orders and directions with him. Now the Sargeant, played by Victor McLaglen, is in charge, with no clue as to where they are or where they were going. They keep marching and come across an oasis, where there is a watering hole and plenty of dates to eat. Before the next morning, their sentry is killed and their horses stolen. As they wait, trying to decide what to do, they are slowly picked off by their unseen assailants.

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