Movie Review: Broken Beak

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(2026)
Written & Directed by Christian Carroll
Starring Briar Rose, Lydia Peckham, Katlyn Wong, Joel Tobeck, Jonny Brugh, Bruce Hopkins

I love when films bring something new to the table when it comes to the “monster”. And by that, I mean, when we delve into the rich, untapped folklore, or even creating a new creature that sounds like it could come from a hundred-year-old tale, it is so refreshing compared to just another vampire, zombie, or other monster that we’ve seen over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I love those monsters too, but it’s always nice to see something different. And we get that with Broken Beak.

The story, originally called The Burning of Broken Beak, was written and directed by Christian Carroll, who also provided the score too! Busy guy. This is Carroll’s first horror feature, and I like what I’ve seen. The film stars off with a brutal murder of a man who just made a huge deal to sell some land in New Zealand that is going to be turned into a huge tourist area. After the deal, he wanders a deserted beach area, not sure if he’s celebrating or regretting what he’s done, but then he is brutally stabbed to death by what looks like a person in a bird costume?

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Re-Animator Book Coming

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For those fans of this iconic film from Stuart Gordon, then you may need to add this to your library. Author Eugenio Ercolani, who has given us so many great commentaries and interviews already on Blu-ray releases, now has compiled the ultimate book on this incredible film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1922 serialized story. Coming from Pulse Books, this 256-page volume will have interviews with key makers of the film, information on the production schedules, the special effects, the sequels, the original source material, and so much more. The book doesn’t just cover the original film, but from the original story to the first film, the sequels, the comics, and everything else in the Herbert West legacy.

Within the pages, you’ll hear from actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, Nico Baixas, producer director of the two sequels, Brian Yuzna, and many more people involved. The list of contributors to this volume is also pretty impressive, with a wide range of film historians, such as Heather Wixson, Nanni Cobretti, Mike Foster, Andrea Meroni, Troy Howarth, Giacomo Calzoni, and Claude Gaillard.

This was funded by a Kickstarter platform, which has now ended. But you can still pledge to it to order your copy, as well as some other cool items and other book titles. Just click HERE to get to that page.

Movie Review: The Devil Whispered My Name

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aka Un susurro invocó mi nombre (2025)
Directed by Emilia Cotella & John Mathis
Starring Clara Kovacic, Valeria Beltramo, Cristian Cavo, Andrés Malakkian

It seems that Argentinian horror films are becoming a thing. After what we’ve seen lately, especially from Demián Rugna, it seems that country has been making some impressive entries in the horror genre. And we love it!

This story takes a little folklore, a little mysticism, and of course, some religion thrown into the mix. A group of five young adolescents who go off on a little camping trip, as well as another trip. They concoct some sort of brew to drink that will expand their minds. Carla promises her best friend Maria that she’s got her back and that everything will be fine. But when Carla finally wakes up after having some frightening visions, she finds Maria laying in a pool of blood on the riverbank, with what looks like some sort of a ritualistic design carved into her chest.

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Naschy Book: Bigger, Stronger, Faster!

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Okay, maybe not faster, but you’ll be stronger once you pick up this new volume. But very soon the updated volume of MUCHAS GRACIAS SEÑOR LOBO will be ready for us eager fans to have in their hands. But much like the last edition, to get it here in the states, it’s not cheap. But let’s get to the good stuff first, shall we?

Back in 2012, when they had first expanded this book from a small paperback version that was all in black and white, to a massive volume with 400 pages of around 1400 images of memorabilia from Naschy’s films, from posters, lobby cards, stills, and much more other promotional material, from countries around the world. But now, there is over 200 MORE pages and more than 2200 images, many are being published for the first time. The text is both in German and English, and it comes with a foreword by Naschy’s son, Sergio Molina. This new volume is still in full color, “a premium hardcover with a rounded spine, thread-sewn binding and partial spot varnish on the cover.”

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Mystery Photo 6-15

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So, I tried to be a little sneaky last week, posting a pic from a popular movie, but using an image that I “thought” wouldn’t be easily recognized. Apparently, I was wrong. It was, of course, from David Cronenberg’s Scanners (1981). Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Gregory Avery, Aaron Christensen, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Christopher Highland, Michael LeBlanc, Erik Martin, Gary Miller, Richard Schellback, Mickey Thompson, Jame Turner, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Nicely done.

Which means this week’s photo is going to be a little more obscure. You know the rules. Take a look and then send in your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskryp.com. Good Luck!

Soundtrack Review: Soundtrack for An Anonymous Horror Movie

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Soundtrack For An Anonymous Horror Movie
Published by Bucks Music Group
14 Tracks with a Total Running Time: 39 min
Music Composed by Richard G. Mitchell

I first became aware of composer Richard Mitchell when I saw the film Caveat, directed by Damian McCarty. Because I enjoyed the movie so much, I purchased the soundtrack that Mitchell had created. When I did my review for it, I wrote “like the film itself, the music burrows into your psyche, adding to the strangeness you are watching on screen, enhancing the images, the feelings, and most of all, the uneasiness it is creating within you.” When McCarty’s next movie came out, Oddity, I was just as excited to see if it was as good as his first film, which it was. The score was once again by Mitchell, but for some reason, there wasn’t any release of the official score.

Until now. Well, sort of.

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DtH Episode 124 – The Fly Trilogy

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The Fly (1958), Return of the Fly (1959), and Curse of the Fly (1965)

With all the films out there were deviant mad scientists end up paying for their meddling in things that man shouldn’t, in 1958, you have a film where the scientist really was trying to create something for the betterment of mankind. Unfortunately, something unforeseen happens and tragedy soon ensues. And while it turns into a monster film, there is so much more than just a simple ’50s creature feature. And of course, when the movie does well at the box office, we have to have a sequel. Or two, even if that takes 6 years to bring to the screen. But the exploits of the Delambre family continue on, as well as their mistakes, and once again, at the cost of life and sanity.

While these films sometimes divide fans on which one is great and not-so-great, or even to which one is best, we decided to take the time to dive into this trilogy and maybe give you more to think about the next time you watch them. If you hear any buzzing around when you’re listening to the show, I’m sure it’s nothing.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Book Review: Hitchcock & Herrmann

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Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema
Published by Oxford University Press, 2025. 295 pages
By Steven C. Smith

I had purchased Smith’s previous book, on composer Max Steiner, so when this new one was coming out, I pre-ordered it. Not only because I knew it was going to be interesting with the subject matter being the work that Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann did, but I just love learning more about the making of the films. Learning about the making of the music for these films was something new and made me very curious to dig into. Especially since I have not one bit of musical talent myself, would I be able to understand what the author was describing? While there are parts where Smith delves into the actual music, for a layman like me, it was still very comprehensible and not overpowering where you lose interests.

The book opens with Herrmann conducting the score for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976), which would be his last score. It shows just how much influence his scores had been to this new generation of directors, such as Scorsese, Brian De Palma, and even modern composers like John Williams. And while Herrmann started his film score career with Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), it really was his work with Alfred Hitchcock that gave him his fame. Even with his last scores, it showed Herrmann’s temperament and attitude, but also his ethics, style, and just sheer talent.

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Mystery Photo 6-8-26

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Our last photo was from the film Mother of Flies (2025) from the incredible Adams Family. If you haven’t seen any of their work, I would highly recommend it, especially The Deeper You Dig (2019) and Hellbender (2021). Only got 3 correct answers sent in this time, from Steve Adkins, Aaron Christensen, and Erik Martin. Well done!

This week’s photo is an old classic, but will you be able to recognize the title from this shot? Take a look and see if you can. Just remember to send your guess to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Movie Review: Audition

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(1999)
Directed by Takashi Miike
Starring Ryô Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda

I can vividly remember the first time I watched this film when it first came out, thinking it was moving kind of slow in the beginning. I mean, this was a horror film, right? All we’re seeing is this guy going through a lot of trouble to meet a future wife, which seemed kind of creepy when you think about it. But then we start to see some cracks in the story, meaning it isn’t going the way it seemed like. And then comes the infamous third act. Holy shit.

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