Book Review: John L. Balderston – Architect of Horror

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John L. Balderston: Architect of Horror
Published by Centerline Publishing, 2026. 205 pages.
By Christopher Lock

Being an avid collector of non-fiction books on the horror genre, and being a fan of the Universal films, anytime I see a book on the subject, I add it to my library. Whether it be on director James Whale, any of the actors associated with those films, such as Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi, to the makeup man Jack Pierce, to even Kenneth Strickfaden who created all the electronic equipment in the Frankenstein films, if someone wrote it, I’ll get it. But one subject associated with that part of our horror history is screenwriter John L. Balderston. He’s always mentioned in a lot of these books, but that’s just it. Nothing has been written solely on this essential part of those films. Until now.

Author Christopher Lock, has written several books on these Universal films, including one on The Bride of Frankenstein, which I reviewed HERE, so he definitely knows the subject, and you can tell has done some extensive research on the subjects. While Balderston technically was only involved in a handful of classic titles, and always a contributing writer instead of having full ownership of the script, we still get to read a lot of information about him, how he got started in the industry, not to mention what he was doing before and after.

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Mystery Photo 11-2

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Just another 11 months to go before we’re back in Halloween season. Who am I kidding? It’s still Halloween season for most of us, right? Make your own reality! We’re usually called crazy anyway, so what the hell! Okay… let’s get to the business at hand. Our photo from last week was a bit easy, but being that close to Halloween, I figured I’d use one of the best Halloween movies to come out in the last couple of decades. It was of course, from Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat (2007). Damn… almost 20 years old?!? Oof. But here’s the ones that sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Chris Dyer, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, AJ McIntyre, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. You all get an extra Snickers in your Trick-or-Treat bag!

Now to this week’s photo, one that might be a little tougher. You’ll have to take a peek below to find out. Just remember to send me your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And good luck!

Movie Review: The Pope’s Exorcist

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Directed by Julius Avery
Starring Russell Crowe, Alexandra Essoe, Daniel Zovatto, Franco Nero, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Laurel Marsden, John Cornell, Bianca Bardoe

There’s a couple of high hurdles for any movie that deals with exorcisms. The first is that it will always be compared to The Exorcist (1973), no matter what. No matter how unfair that may be, it’s going to happen. The second one is that because there are SO many films dealing with this subject, that it is really hard to do something different, especially when you probably have some executive saying “We got to have someone spitting up pea soup” or “their head has to spin around”. That being said, going into to this film, I can’t say I was too excited, because as the saying goes, been there, done that.

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Happy Halloween!

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It has been one hell of a month, one filled with movie screenings, conventions, lectures, and so much more. I know I am sheer exhausted by the time the month is over, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Wait… actually, I’d like to have even more time to see more movies, go to more different spooky and Halloween themed events, as well as spending more time with my other horror friends and family. With all the crap going on in the world, these are the things where you can sit back and still see the beauty in the world, even when it’s covered in spiderwebs and has fog encircling it! There are times when I start to lose hope for humanity, but then I have a passionate conversation about an old black and white movie that they have just seen. Or even just two complete strangers talking about movies together as they wait in line for a film. It not only still shows me the power of film, but it seems that more and more people are “getting it”.

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Patrick Stewart – Rest in Peace

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I can’t not mention the passing of Patrick Stewart. I know he’s known more for Star Trek than horror, though he did step into that genre a few times, such as in Lifeforce (1985) or Green Room (2015), but it because of his portrayal of Jean-Luc Picard from the Start Trek series, or even Professor X in the X-Men films. But nonetheless, this incredibly talented actor was much more than just that. I think the best quote I saw after his passing sums up Stewart the best, was from fellow TV starship captain, William Shatner. He posted, “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him.”

We can only hope that he helped people, both fans of his work and those that came in contact with him, to be a better person tomorrow than they were today. He saw the best of humanity, both on TV and real life. Our thoughts go out to him and his family during this difficult time. But we know that his work will continue to guide younger fans to think positive and do good in the world. Rest in peace, Mr. Stewart. Gone, but definitely never forgotten.

DtH Episode 134 – Frank LaLoggia with Ben Scrivens

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Fear No Evil (1981) & Lady in White (1988)

Being days before Halloween, now is the time to bust out those classic horror titles. A favorite sub-genre is a classic ghost story to give chills and thrills, as well as telling a really great story, with some endearing characters. A perfect example of that is Frank LaLoggia’s 1989 film, Lady in White, which had recently been released on 4K by Vinegar Syndrome. LaLoggia’s first film, Fear No Evil (1981), has also just come out in a new 4K release from them as well. So, it’s a perfect time to cover both of these LaLoggia films for the holiday.

A friend of the show, Ben Scrivens from Fright Rags, is also a huge fan of Lady in White, as well as having a small part in getting this 4K edition to come out, so we thought he’d be a great guest to join us in discussing these two films.

If you care to read the interview I did with LaLoggia back in the 90s, just click HERE.

Films Mentioned in this episode:

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Interview: Frank LaLoggia

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Way back in the mid-90s, I was involved in a sort of fanzine with several of my friends, called Visions of Darkness. Though we tried to get it distributed to a wider audience, this was pre-internet, so it wasn’t as easy as it is nowadays. But during the short of run of this, I somehow got in contact with director Frank LaLoggia, who had directed one of my favorite ghost story films of all time, Lady in White (1988). In fact, at my very first horror convention, in California in 1988, he was there promoting Lady. I still don’t know how I got in touch with him, but he was gracious enough to chat with me on the phone about his films, Fear No Evil (1981), his follow up, the previously mention, Lady, as well as some other topics. For some reason, I never transferred over to my website once I started that in 1998. Maybe because I want to go through and re-type everything in! But now, many decades after it was recorded and released to a very few people, here it is for everyone to read and enjoy, as well as take heed of some horror stories of working in the film industry. Sure, this was from 30+ years ago, but I’m sure those types are still around. Of course, one of the reasons I wanted to get this out to the public is because our latest episode of Discover the Horror is about two of Frank’s films and thought that a lot of what he talked about, will give viewers a little more understanding of why the final product looks like it does, both with Fear and Lady.

So, sit back and enjoy. Might take a bit since it’s a pretty long interview, but there is a lot of great information and insight in here.

Visions Of Darkness: First of all, your newest film that you mentioned in an earlier email to me was it called Mom?

Frank LaLoggia: Mother.

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Peter Medak – Rest in Peace

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Director Peter Medak passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 88 years old. He had worked in a variety of sub-genres, and worked with many great actors, such as Peter O’Toole and Gary Oldman. But for horror fans, he is known for directing simply one of the best ghost story movies ever made, the 1980 film The Changeling, starring George C. Scott. It creeped me out immensely when I first saw it, and even today still gives me the chills. You’ll never look at an old wheelchair the same way again! Thankfully, because of Severin’s incredibly looking 4K release they did, this film will live on to haunt new viewers for generations to come, and rightly so.

But Medak was able to show the overpowering grief the main character is going through, with the help of a stellar performance by Scott, all inside a classic story of a haunting from a presence that wants to be heard. Without really showing much, other than long panning shots of inside the house, Medak created such an effective and compelling story, that is one that I often revisit. So, for that film alone, I have a lot of respect for him.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Rest in Peace.

New TCM Book

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Being released in January of next year, Titan Books is unleashing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Official Story of the Film by John Walsh. Much like the recent release title on George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, this brand-new coffee table style book is 176 pages and is going to set you back $50. I have to say, I am very intrigued, but it’s going to need to be an amazing book for me to drop that much for a single book. So, I’m excited, but cautious. But seriously, who would have thought that 50 years ago, this amazing film would be taken seriously enough to have a book like this created? It really does show the power of cinema, and how some films, once thought as trash, would remain as powerful now as it was over a half a decade ago. Funny how thoughts change over a half a century, and that those who once scoffed at movies like this, have been replaced by those that see the brilliance in them.

According to the publisher, this book “offers an in-depth look at the making of the iconic horror movie. This hardback book delves into the challenges and triumphs faced during production, featuring behind-the-scenes photos – some rarely seen – and exclusive archive materials. It includes fresh insights through new interviews with surviving cast and crew, shedding light on the film’s enduring legacy and influence on the horror genre.”

You can pre-order it from Titan’s website HERE, or it will be available on Amazon as well.

House that Hammer Built Volume 4 Available!

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The latest volume of Wayne Kinsey’s incredible series, The House that Hammer Built – the Complete Hinds/Carreras Years (1934-79): Volume 4 (1959-62), is NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER!!! Keep in mind, that while yes, it is a bit pricy, especially with the postage from the UK, there is only 750 copies being produced. That means if you’re interested, you may just want to get your copy now. These really are some of the best books out there on the history of Hammer Films, as well as the people that worked there. So much information to learn about the Studio that Dripped Blood all within the pages, each packed full of full color photos.

Each volume covers a different era of Hammer Films, from their very beginning in 1934 to the end in 1979, when it was run by the Hinds and Carreras families. This volume continues the story after their huge explosion into the market with their revivals of the classic monsters, with The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Horror of Dracula (1958).

The price is £40 ($53.42) + £24.00 ($32.05) Airmail Shipping, which will then run your about $85 in total. But for the size of the book, not to mention all the photos and information in it, I still feel it is well worth it. I have all previous volumes and will continue to buy each one that Kinsey and Peveril publishes. Just click HERE to get to the site to place your order.

To further entice you, here are some of the pages from the latest volume: