(Originally posted on our old site on Dec. 28th, 2008)

2008  YEAR IN REVIEW

Here at the Krypt, 2008 was definitely a year of changes. Back in January of this year, I was fired from my job of 8 years. After what seemed like forever (really only months) of being out-of-work, I was lucky enough to get hired on to a company that I have so far loved working for. The people are great and the work is never boring. I had given up hope that one could actually have a job and enjoy going to work. But it can and does happen, folks. I’m living proof.

After 10 years of running the Krypt, we are just having as much fun as when we started. So please keep coming with the emails, the Mystery Photo answers, and all the other comments. It really means a lot to me, and shows that we are still on the right path.

For Chicago area fans, one highlights has to be the creation of WildClaw Theatre. A group of people that were determined (and still are) in bringing horror back to the stage. After 2 successful plays, and a night filled with good old fashion radio horror plays, they have seemed to not only make their mark, but have only shown us a glimpse of what we might be seeing in the future.

Of course, as usual for every year, hitting the many conventions that we do is always a highlight of our year. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones, these are always a lot of fun and always good times. We can’t wait to hook up with all of you again in 2009. There were a few genre icons that I had the chance to meet this year. Such as Bert I. Gordon, Lamberto Bava, and the most surreal one of all, driving Robert Englund to the Music Box Theatre for a screening of Nightmare on Elm Street. Can’t even begin to explain how weird that is to look over at your passenger seat and see Freddy himself sitting there, discussing his passion for film and theater. Wow.

So let’s get to our so-called “Best Of” list. This was the first year that we successfully kept record of all the movies that we watched throughout the year. It was much easier to look back of what we’ve seen throughout the year. Granted, we don’t see that many movies at the theater, so a lot of what we watch might not necessarily be a film from 2008, but is new to us. 

We do have a Best of 2008 film, and that was a tough decision. Out of all the films that we considered the best of what we’ve watched this year, it was funny (though not surprising) that not too many near the top had come from the USA. I think the only one I could mention that came out in 2008 would be Midnight Meat Train. But of course, thanks to the wonderful people at Lionsgate for screwing that up, a lot of people never got the chance to see it.

The film that we consider to be the best film of 2008 is Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Orphanage. The runner up was Inside, from directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury. Both of these films leave very powerful images in your head, days after watching it, though I feel that The Orphanage had a better story, and was a much more emotional film, that really had a last impact on me. Granted, I’m always a sucker for a good ghost story, but this one was quite different than your typical ghost story.

One thing that happened this year that I was really excited about was the stronger presents of the Spanish horror film industry. Not only with The Orphanage, but we also had a DVD release of the made-for-tv shows, 6 Films To Keep You Awake. Two of those six films, Jaume Balagueró’s To Let and Álex de la Iglesia’s The Baby’s Room were right up at the top of the best films that I’ve seen this year. That also goes for Balagueró’s [REC]. Over the last few years, with Guillermo del Toro leading the way, Spanish filmmakers have been able to show their reign of terror didn’t end in the 70’s.

Some other films that we seen for the first time this year that we thought were really good were The Woman in Black, a made-for-TV movie in the UK from 1989 which not only just blew me away, but was puzzled how I had never seen this before. From here in the USA, Jim Mickle’s Mulberry Street, which actually came out in 2006, but was one of the best American made films that I’d seen, especially with the budget they had. Then lastly, the Swedish vampire film, Let the Right One In, which everyone has been talking about. It is as good as everyone is saying.

This year we lost quite a few of our heroes in 2008, some of them making major impact on the genre and us fans. I always say that being a star in the horror genre means that they truly will be immortal. Because the fans will keep their memories alive every time we watch one of their movies. It is our responsibility, our duty, to make sure these names below will always be remember for their contribution to the horror genre. Rest in peace.

Forrest J. Ackerman, Carlos Aured, Ben Chapman, Hazel Court, Julie Ege, Mel Ferrer,
Beverly Garland, Bill Landis, Maila “Vampira” Nurmi, and Stan Winston