Books, Books, and More Books!

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In case you weren’t aware of it, I’m kind of a book collector. And by that, I mean I collect horror reference books, or books that discuss or cover the horror film genre, from film guides, biographies, deep dives into different sub-genres, and even those titles that I call psycho-babble. I love them all. Maybe because I’m more old school and books are where I first learned about movies, way before the internet was a thing. I know I’ve said this probably a few times here over the years, but I think it is worth mentioning again, possibly for new readers, or just to remind regulars on how important I feel it is to learn more about the genre.

Because this horror film genre is so huge, going on almost 130 years, there are more films already made then we’ll ever get to see in one’s lifetime. Some might consider a fact like that a little overwhelming, others might consider it a challenge! But either way, it means that there is an ever-ending pool of discoveries for us fans. No matter how long you’ve been down this dark and twisted path. Perfect case in point, the recently release from Severin Films, Exorcsmo box set of Spanish films made in a time when it was rather difficult to get them made, let alone released. I consider myself a huge fan of the Spanish genre, but this set has quite a few titles I’d never heard of before. But what does this have to do with books? It’s all about learning more about what we love. And I’ve always found books are a great way of doing that.

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Movie Review: Stranger on the Third Floor

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(1940)
Directed by Boris Ingster
Starring John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet, Elisha Cook Jr., Peter Lorre, Charles Waldron, Charles Halton, Ethel Griffies

This film proves once again that no matter how long you’ve been a film fan, there are always more titles to discover that you might not have known about. Now thanks to Warner Archives, I have to the chance to see a film starring (well, sort of) one of my favorite actors from the classic eras, Peter Lorre.

Now even though Lorre is top billed, he is barely in a supporting role. While he is the title character, he only appears in a few scenes, but they were obviously using his name to hype of the film, especially since the rest of the cast didn’t have any of the star status needed to promote it. But while it’s not one of the best of that era, there is still more here to be appreciated.

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Tom Noonan – Rest in Peace

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There are a lot of actors that made an impact with a particular role, but Tom Noonan did that a few times in his career. And while he was in the first adaptation of where we first get to see the character of Hannibal Lecktor (the way it’s spelled in the film), Manhunter (1986), playing the Tooth Fairy, Francis Dollarhyde, is one of those performances. Nothing against Ralph Fiennes, but Noonan was just incredible in his performance. But then the following year, he played a completely different kind of monster in The Monster Squad (1987), bringing the heart of the character to the screen again. While he was an imposing figure, he always gave such good performances, no matter how small they might be.

In looking up a little on him for this piece, I came across a quote from him that I will now be quoting going forward. A lot of fans of film saying that it is a nice escape from reality, something I’ve said and believed in many times. But Noonan said, “I don’t think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away.” I just love that.

So, thank you once again, Mr. Noonan, for making me think outside the box, and to see you much more than just a tall actor. Rest in peace. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

DtH Episode 116 – Corman / Price / Poe

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House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

In the beginning of his career as a producer / director Roger Corman was known for cranking out cheap and fast black and white pictures that always made money. He worked in all genres, but it was mainly the horror and sci-fi pictures in the mid to late ’60s he was known for. All that changed in 1960, when he convinced AIP to let him adapt a story from Edgar Allan Poe, but in color, with a bigger budget, and longer shooting schedule. That started a new phase of Corman’s career, which also made an even bigger star of Vincent Price.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into three of these Poe adaptations, and not necessarily looking in the faithfulness of them, but in their production, the incredible casts, the look, the style, as well as the feel of them. They really do get better each and every time you watch them. Hopefully after listening to this episode, you’ll decide to either venture down this dark path for the first time or take a revisit to admire the doom and gloom they all have.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Mystery Photo 2-16

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Our photo from last week must have been a little too new for most out there, since we only got one correct answer, which was from Kevin Hart. Well done, Sir! The shot was from the 2021 film The Deep House, directed by Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury. They are the ones that gave us 2007 film Inside, as well as some other good titles since then. The Deep House is the first haunted house film I’ve seen where the house is completely underwater. Worth your time.

But let’s get on to this week’s photo. Going with a classic but not a pic that you might recognize. But isn’t that the whole point? Take a look and see what you come up with. Just remember to send me your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And most of all, Good Luck!

Book Review: The Ghastly One

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The Ghastly One: The 42nd Street Netherworld of Director Andy Milligan
Revised Edition Published by FAB Press, 2022. 256 pages.
By Jimmy McDonough

This has been one long journey. I started reading this revised edition back in 2023, but for some reason, I kept putting it down for a variety of reasons. There were other projects that got in the way, books I needed to get to that were sent to me to review, and life in general. But first and foremost, it was probably just because it is such a depressing story!

I knew of Milligan from seeing a few of his movie titles on VHS back in the day, namely The Rats are Coming! The Werewolves are Here! (1972) but never watched too many of them. In 2021, when Severin Films released their box set, The Dungeon of Andy Milligan, that featured 14 of his films, I knew I would pick it up. By that time, I had really become interested in a lot of these different low budget filmmakers, such as Steckler, Adamson, Buchanan, and knew that Milligan was one that I really wanted to learn more about. And I wasn’t let down by what I saw.

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Mystery Photo 2-9

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Hopefully the weather is breaking a little for everyone out there. We almost got to the 40s this week. Damn near shorts weather for us in the Midwest! But let’s get down to business. Our photo from last week was from the very first movie from Jerry Warren, Man Beast from 1956. This was before Jerry learned he could save money by using footage stock footage and sequences from other films! This one also starred Rock Madison, who isn’t a real person, but Warren figured that name would have some box office draw! Gotta love the old days of film PR. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Charles Miller, and Mike Shields. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo, which is a little more current. Take a look and see if you can recognize what movie it is from. Just remember to send me your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskyrpt.com. Good Luck!

Columbus Moving Picture Show

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While this isn’t a new show for us, last year the Columbus Moving Picture Show moved from downtown Columbus to the northside of the city, which I have to say was a huge improvement, if just on the cost alone! Downtown was really nice but just a bit too pricy. I do miss our regular visits to Dirty Franks, but we’ve found a new great place. But more on that in a bit!

The main reason for this post is to remind some movie collectors about this show. It is old-fashioned memorabilia show, with tons of posters, lobby cards, half-sheets, 8×10 stills, and so much more. What it doesn’t have is a ton of celebrities with overpriced photo-ops and autographs. That is what sets this apart from most conventions these days and is one of the reasons why we love setting up there. And even though it’s not just horror, there is still a lot of cool stuff to find, though you may have to do some searching. Then again, that is part of the fun.

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Soundtrack Review: Dark Touch

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Dark Touch
Released by Tricatel, 2013
18 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 43 min.
Original Music by Christophe Chassol

It didn’t take but a few minutes into the movie for this score to get my attention. Right from the very beginning, we hear this haunting piano tune, which will always get my attention. But it continues on, drawing the listener in even more. The sound of the piano almost has a slight distortion, or like weird vibration to the notes, which gives it even more of an eerie sound to it. And right at that moment, I knew I had to look for this score after the film was done. Which is exactly what I did, and why we are here now!

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DtH Episode 115: New French Extremity Films

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In My Skin (2002), Inside (2007), and Martyrs (2008)

While the French aren’t known for their horror films, when they do move into that genre, there is something to be said. Perfect example is Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face (1960), with its stark realism and dark themes, it is still a powerful film even today. But in the early 2000’s, a bunch of younger filmmakers pushed the boundaries even farther, making viewers even more uncomfortable as they view these newer entries into the genre. They were often graphic, some over-the-top, and others dealt with darker subjects that were just as disturbing, even though the violence and/or gore wasn’t onscreen. It was the subject and the way it’s shown was what was hard to watch.

In this episode, we decided to take on 3 titles that show the different ranges of that, from the very subversive and uncomfortable subject matter to taking the gore through the roof, but also making you think more than you thought you could, even leaving you in a distressed state for days after the movie ends. That is powerful filmmaking.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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