Author Archives: Jon Kitley

DtH Episode 104: Fantasy Horror

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A Company of Wolves (1984), Nightbreed (1990), Errementari (2017)

As horror fans, we might not really think about the amount of horror elements that are in other sub-genres, such as fantasy. Sure, we all know titles like Conan the Barbarian (1982) that has a guy who turns into a giant snake, or Legend (1985) where one of the main characters is some sort of demon or devil, do those elements make it a horror film?

We all know that horror is used in many different genres of films, even some where the filmmakers themselves go out of their way to make sure to define it NOT as horror. But we know.

But when it comes to Fantasy / Horror, that’s where the story might be based on fairy tales or folklore, and definitely has some elements of horror in there, either in content or maybe just characters. The line can get kind of blurry. But we also know that if its entertaining, then does it really matter?

Take a listen as we discuss 3 titles that we all felt hit the Fantasy / Horror sub-genre, for a variety of reasons. Tune in and find out why.

Titles mentioned in this episode:

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Scott Spiegel – Rest in Peace

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It’s a shame that Spiegel’s name isn’t more well known, since he was one of those crazy Michigan guys who went on to do some pretty important movies in the genre, such as Evil Dead (1981). Not only did he co-write Thou Shalt Not Kill… Except (1985), but he also co-wrote and directed the fun little slasher Intruder (1989), which both Sam and Ted Raimi, and Bruce Campbell appeared in. He would go on to direct From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) and Hostel: Part III (2011).

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

Movie Review: Bring Her Back

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(2025)
Directed by Danny & Michael Philippou
Starring Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips, Stephen Phillips, Mischa Heywood

The Philippou brothers made a big impact with horror fans with their 2022 film Talk to Me, about what looks to be a ceramic hand that is used for a twisted sort of party game. Except when you hold it in your hand, you become possessed by… something. There’s a time limit otherwise really bad things happen, which you see in the film. Their newest film, Bring Her Back, seems to live in that same world, where entities of some sort exist. The tagline used in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, “Demons to some. Angels to others”, fits perfectly here.

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Mystery Photo 9-1

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Welcome to September! Now we might be able to start to go outside and not melt into the pavement! Plus, we’re just a month away from October! Granted, for most of us, we’re already in full Halloween-mode, while others live by the “Every day is Halloween”, me included! But let’s get to why we’re here. Last week’s photo was from the 1963 film The Curse of the Crying Woman, which opened up a whole new sub-genre for me back in the ’90s. A good friend recommended getting into the gothic Mexican films of the late ’50s and early ’60s, and this title was the first one I watched. I’ve been hooked ever since. Thanks Mark! Anyway, here’s the ones that sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Erik Martin, Mike Shields, Alan Tromp, and Greg Wojick. ¡Excelente!

For this week’s photo, we’re still going old school with another black and white classic. Take a look and see if you can identify what film this shot is from. Just remember, send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And most of all, Good Luck!

Island of Terror Book

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Way back in 2017, I reviewed the book A Vault of Horror by Keith Topping, (click HERE for my review) which was one that I truly enjoyed. Sure, I’d seen most of the titles covered in this film guide, but it was mainly because of the format and his writing. Lots of fun information and trivia in there, the kind that makes you want to bust out the movie you just read about to watch again. Then last year, Topping put out a follow-up guide, entitled Return to the Vault of Horror, continuing in the same format. I haven’t gotten to reading it yet, but hopefully soon.

But now, Topping switches over from British horror films from the ’50s to the ’70s to science fiction and fantasy movies, even widening the years covered. The new book is called Island of Terror: A Guide to 60 Great British SF and Fantasy Movies from 1936-1984. When you put The Green Slime on the cover, I definitely am going to add this to my library! Some of the titles covered include H.G. Wells’ Things to Come, Hammer’s Four-Sided Triangle and the Quatermass films, to The Trollenberg Terror aka The Crawling Eye, The Earth Dies Screaming, Island of Terror, Scream and Scream Again, Alien, Lifeforce and many more in between.

This 598-page book will be coming out this October and can be purchased through the publisher, Telos Publishing, through their website HERE. The price is £19.99, which is about $27 here in the states.

Jaws 50th Anniversary Soundtrack

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If you are so inclined, Intrada have recently released a 3-CD release of John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. I had immediately ordered the 2-CD set when it came out in 2015, which had some extra tracks on it that had never been released before. For this, you do get some more extras never released but it seems the main point is that it has been remastered once again, with a much better sound to it.

According to Intrada’s website:

Back in 2015 when Intrada first released the complete score, Universal made a fresh transfer of the three-track masters at a standard resolution of 44k/24-bit. For this release, Universal created a new high-resolution transfer at 192k/24-bit that provided levels of detail previously unheard. The most striking improvement, however, comes from the MCA album program. Back in 2015 no one could locate the elements for the original soundtrack recording beyond the CD digital master made in 1992. In the intervening years, UMe located the 2-inch, 16-track multichannel master tapes for the album recording. They transferred these in high-resolution as well and they proved to be in excellent condition. GRAMMY-nominated soundtrack producer Mike Matessino cleaned up and fully remixed these transfers, allowing this classic recording to sound more alive than it ever has before—and that’s not hyperbole. Even more remarkable was the discovery of never-before-heard material on master tapes that hadn’t been played for half a century.

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Movie Review: Hellbender

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(2021)
Directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser
Starring Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, Lulu Adams, John Adams, Judy Rosen, Rob Figueroa, Rinzin Thonden

Back in 2019, I stumbled upon a film on Prime called The Deeper You Dig (2019) and decided to take a chance on it. It was a very simple story about a young girl who is killed by a hit and run driver, that to hide his crime, hides the body. What he didn’t expect would be the dead girl haunting him. A simple tale but one that had such a small cast, pretty much three actors, really delivered. But when I found out that not only were the three main actors were a husband-wife-daughter team, but they also co-directed the film, co-wrote it, and did just about every other job on the production, I was even more impressed. So, I kept them on my radar. Two years later, they released Hellbender, which not only had all three of them returning, but also their other daughter, Lulu Adams.

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Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest at the Midway Drive-In

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The final lineup has been announced for this year’s Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest at the Midway Drive-in, taking place on Sept. 20th. And what a lineup!

Re-Animator (1985)
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

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Harker Press Unleashes a Nightmare Book

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Harker Press has announced their latest book, Nightmare Autopsis: A Return to Elm Street by author Lowell Greenblatt, with introduction by Nathan Thomas Milliner. The book contains story analyses, production info and behind-the-scenes stories, and much more. Here what you’ll get:

  • A foreword by Nathan Thomas Milliner
  • A franchise-spanning photo gallery
  • New insights from three Nightmare directors
  • Extensive looks at unused sequel scripts
  • Deep dives on each film’s story origins
  • Long-overdue appreciations for the sequels
  • A history of Freddy’s evolving iconography
  • A look at how each entry influenced the next

This is obviously a must for any fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street series, but I would just throw it out there that I have read and reviewed plenty of titles from Harker Press, some on a subject that I really had little interest in, such as the Halloween sequels, but still found them very fascinating and a lot of information I didn’t know. If you’re a horror fan, don’t just walk away because it’s a book on those “Freddy movies”. Trust me.

The other great thing about Harker Press’ releases is the price. You get a decent size book at a very reasonable price. This one will be available in hardcover at $32.99, softcover at $24.99, and is 423 pages. Plenty for any Freddy fans to dig into. For more info, head over to Harker Press by clicking HERE. Or you can order your copy through Amazon by clicking HERE.

Mystery Photo 8-25

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It’s Monday, and we have internet, so I guess it’s time for a new Mystery Photo!!! Even though I gave everyone an extra week, it looks like we still only got two correct answers sent in. They were from Hoby Abernathy and Erik Martin. Congrats lads! And the film was the 1963 Mario Bava film The Whip and the Body. I remember the first time I got to see this, on a shabby looking bootleg VHS, but it still creeped me out. It also has an amazing score from Carlo Rustichelli.

Okay, let us get on with this week’s photo. Going to an old classic, one that got me into a whole other sub-genre and still remains one of my favorites. Take a look and hopefully if you’re by a mirror, you won’t see that in the reflection! Just remember to send me your guesses in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And Good Luck!