Mystery Photo 5-4

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Yes, before I head off to the wilds of Arkansas, possibly never to be seen or heard from again, I am getting this posted! Priorities, right? But let’s not dilly dally! Last week’s photo was from the film The Face of Marble (1946), which I’m not sure I had even heard of before stumbling across it on Prime. And a John Carradine horror film that I hadn’t seen before?!?!? Check that off the list immediately! As expected, a fun little flick, including a large white ghost/vampire dog! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Bob Hartman, Doug Lamoreux, Erik Martin, Bryan Senn, and William Wilson. Well done!

Ok…this one might be a bit obvious, especially where I’m heading this week, but I figured if anything was more fitting, then why not? And you have to admit, this ending is one hell of a scene, and I don’t think anyone expect that! Just take a look and send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. See you on the other side!

Mariclare Costello – Rest in Peace

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I know this happened a couple of weeks ago and meant to put up a post on it but just kept getting sidetracked. But I couldn’t not post it since Costello appeared in one of my favorites, and highly underrated films, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), directed by John Hancock. She hadn’t made too many appearances in the horror genre in her career, other than small roles in the 1983 anthology Nightmares. But her performance as the homeless Emily in Jessica helps give the film that dreamlike or surreal quality to it. It really is a haunting performance and one that every horror fan needs to experience.

Our thoughts go out to her and her family during this difficult time.

World Tour Commences

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Starting tomorrow, I will be out of touch from most of the world for all of next week. I get to go on a fun adventure for work, one of those team building events. And boy am I excited. Trust me, images from Christopher Smith’s movie Severance have been going through my head for the last couple of weeks. If you email me, I will get back to you as soon as I return.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors – End of an Era

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The first issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors I purchased was # 8, which had originally come out in May of 1984. It was probably closer to the mid ’80’s to late ’90s when I picked it up. The main reason was because I was starting to go nuts over Hammer Films and The Vampire Lovers was one of my favorites, and issue # 8 was all about the Karnstein trilogy, so of course I had to get it. And from that issue on, I started to get the latest copy of Little Shoppe of Horrors every time one came out. It really was a Hammer Films fan’s dream come true, because it was so damn informative about not only the films, but those that were involved in making them.

And now, after over 5 decades and 53 issues, it is finally coming to an end. Issue # 53 will be released next month and has a cover story of the making of The Abominable Snowman (1957) by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, as well as an interview with Clive Dawson on the un-filmed Snowman, and an interview with star Forrest Tucker by David Aquino & George Stover. There is also a feature on the making of The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) by John Hamilton, an article by Stephen R. Bissette on John Gillin’s The Gamma People (1956), as well as other amazing pieces such as interviews with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Hinds.

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That Very Witch Double Feature

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On May 30th, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, they are hosting That Very Witch Double Feature! Starting at 9:30pm, the first film is the Italian film Baba Yaga (1973), starring Carol Baker, Isabelle De Funès, and George Eastman, in a strange tale directed by Corrado Farina, of a photographer falling under the spell of the witch. Filled with eroticism, strange nightmares, and highly memorable images.

The second feature is Virgin Witch (1971), directed by Ray Austin, and starring real life sisters Ann and Vicki Michelle, who are invited for a weekend photo shoot at country home of Patricia Haines, who plays Sibil Waite, the owner of a modeling agency. But little do the sisters know Sibil has much more on her mind than modeling. In fact, she is in search of a virgin to join her coven of witches!

Both films will be introduced by author Payton McCarty-Simas, who will be selling copies her book That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism & the American Witch Film after the show. Severin Films will also be there with a Pop-Up in the Lounge before and after the screenings.

Just click HERE to get to the Music Box’s page for this event.

Hammer Unleashes X

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Two years before The Blob emerged from a meteor that landed in Pennsylvania and started devouring very old teenagers, over in Scottland, a very similar creature started attacking the locals. Except this one didn’t come from outer space, from within the bowels of the earth. In X – The Unknown (1956), during some mine detection training with the army, the radioactive material used drew the attention of some creature that breaks loose onto the surface, leaving a couple of soldiers with severe radiation burns. Except with no witnesses, and the creature going back down underground, nobody can figure out what could have caused the burns on the men. That’s when you call in the scientist, Dr. Royston, played by American star Dean Jagger, which was a common thing to do for British pictures to help with foreign distribution. You also have Michael Ripper as one of the sergeants in the military.

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Carpenter Fest 2 at the Midway Drive-In

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That’s right folks, the Midway Drive-In is doing it again, holding a Dusk-to-Dawn event screening 4 different films from John Carpenter!!! And unless you’re wearing your special sunglasses, you’re going to need to come to this event, buy some popcorn, corn dogs, and cheeseburgers, and spend money on the vendors. OBEY! CONSUME! All of this takes place on Saturday, May 16th. The doors open at 5pm with the pre-show starting at 8pm, so make sure you get there early to not only get a good spot, but also to enjoy a wonderful night at the drive-in!

For those that get there early, we’ll be handing out free sunglasses to the first 100 people in line to get in! Now, we’re not saying that you need to wear these glasses to see what is really going on, but one never knows…. Right before the gates open, we will be out there passing the sunglasses and maybe even some eye patches (in case you’re more Snake Plissken fan than Roddy Piper!) to those in line until supplies last. In other words, make sure you get there early!

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DtH Episode 121 – Made-for-TV Horror: Dan Curtis

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As a horror fan growing up watching TV in the early ’70s, you may not know or remember the name Dan Curtis, but you know his work. From his early gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, where one of the main characters just happened to be a vampire, to the countless adaptations of classic novels, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde, to even more throughout the ’70s. Curtis continued to give TV viewing audiences plenty of nightmares during that time, always using a blend of classic monsters, as well as bringing new and unique ones to the small screen, all with the same results.

While some of his work might be lost on modern day audiences, his influence has never gone away, and his body of work is still one that is more than worth revisiting to, or if you’ve never experienced it yet, then now is the perfect time to start down that journey.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Mystery Photo 4-27

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We went a little artsy on our last photo, but I was thrilled to see a few people recognize which movie it was from. It was from Walerian Borowczyk’s 1973 anthology film Immoral Tales. It was one that was featured a more than a few times in some of the earlier horror movie reference books. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Erik Martin, Lee Nattrass, Chris Richmond, and Emily Worthley. Well done!

This week’s photo might be a little more obscure. In fact, until I stumbled upon it online, I’m not sure I even knew of it. So, there you are… always more titles to discover! Give it a look and see if you can recognize what movie it is from. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And most of all, Good Luck!

Movie Review: White Zombie

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(1932)
Directed by Victor Halperin
Starring Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn, Robert Frazer, John Harron

This film starring Bela Lugosi tends to get overshadowed by the one he made the previous year, Universal’s Dracula (1931) since that was the film that made him a star. It is unfortunate because I feel that he gives a much more memorable performance here in White Zombie, as the voodoo priest Murder Legendre, than he did as the famous Count. And while it might not be an all-around classic title in the annals of horror history, it does have more than enough to give it more credit than it gets, besides being the namesake of Rob Zombie’s first band.

This does have the honor of being the very first feature zombie film, taking ideas from William S. Seabrook’s novel The Magic Island, which was where American audiences first heard of tales of voodoo and zombies. These were somnambulist or automatons, humans moving without will, or at least without their own will. These were not the flesh-eating, living dead kind, which we wouldn’t see until 1968. Based mainly on voodoo rites, these were not actual dead that have come back to life, but more likely just under a spell, as well as possibly caused by drugs of some sort. No matter what the belief is, it is the first film dealing with them. This kind of zombie would remain in horror films for the next 3 decades until George Romero changed the game with Night of the Living Dead.

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