Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Super-Horror-Rama Goes Full Throttle!

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They are back!!! Now that Chicago’s Music Box Theatre is finished installing their 3rd theater, John McDevitt and his Super-Horror-Rama screenings are back with another amazing pair of fun fright flicks, both based on the works of Stephen King and both dealing with some psychotic vehicular madness!

On July 24th at 11:30pm, you can see John Carpenter’s Christine (1983), starring Keith Gordon and that beautiful cherry red, but deadly, 1958 Plymouth Fury.

Then the next night, on July 25th, you can see King’s one and only time in the director’s chair, for better or worse, in Maximum Overdrive (1985)! Sure, some might say it is a trainwreck, but damn if it isn’t a fun ride! With an all-star cast including Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Lisa Simpson herself, Yeardley Smith, this really is just a lot of fun, with metal carnage, some slight overacting, and a soundtrack by AC/DC!!! What more could you want?

Just click HERE to buy tickets. And if you like what Super-Horror-Rama is doing and want to help them continue to do so, join their Patreon! There are 3 different levels with plenty of cool benefits for you, but it also helps John continue to program these great little features each month. Just click HERE if you’re interested in joining.

Movie Review: Sacrificios

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(2025)
Directed by Mauricio Chernovetzky
Starring Jorge A. Jimenez, Frida Astrid, Siddhartha Tonalli

There are a lot of movies that are made just to give you some mindless entertainment, excitement, fun, and maybe even make you laugh. And that is not a criticism because we need those movies, especially in this day and age. But when a film takes a series subject, one that I hope no one would ever have to deal with, takes that trauma, those feelings of grief and guilt, and intertwine them into a movie with a possible supernatural element to it, I’m even more impressed. But let me just say, I have no idea if that is what co-writer and director Chernovetsky was dealing with when he and other writer, Alexander Ioshpe, came up with this story. No matter how they came out it, it is a very impactful story.

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DtH Episode 125 – Modern Supernatural Horror

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Rigor Mortis (2013), When Evil Lurks (2023), and Vicious (2025)

Pretty much from the very beginning of horror cinema—or cinema in general—supernatural horror has been part of the storytelling tradition. Granted, many of those early films were adaptations of famous works of literature dealing with ghosts, vampires, and other unworldly creatures, but more than a century later, the supernatural remains a huge gateway for creative filmmakers to walk through in order to create something interesting, and sometimes something genuinely new.

Many modern supernatural horror films deal with grief and how we cope with it. Some might call it cathartic, while in other films, it’s just downright mean! In the three movies we discuss in this episode, you’ll get a taste of all of that—and more. A couple of these films hit especially hard and will leave an impact on you days after the credits roll. You’ll either be running to tell your closest friends that they absolutely need to watch them, or you won’t say a word for fear that someone might ask, “Is everything okay at home?” But we think that films that can hit that hard deserve to be applauded. So, if you’re game, take that next step- and hit play.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Movie Review: Jackalope

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(2026)
Directed by Bryce Hirschberg
Starring Alex Mandel, Bryce Hirschberg, Catherine Corcoran, Dallas Hart, Howie Mandel

Bryce Hirschberg directs, co-wrote, produced, edited, and stars in this picture, so you could say he’s put a lot of work into it. While I’m not sure it’s the best title for the film, only from a marketing aspect, it does play into the film and is an interesting story with some depth to it. The picture stars Hirschberg as Aidan, who is taking his younger brother Connor (Alex Mandel) on a little brothers getaway. From a flashback sequence and a call to their father (played by Alex’s real father, comedian Howie Mandel), we know there is something going on with Connor. There was some sort of a bad breakup with a wife or girlfriend, but Connor does not want to talk about it. We can tell that there is something deeper going on though. What seems to be an attempt to do the “relax and get away from it all” at their father’s vacation home, doesn’t seem to be going the way Aidan had expected.

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Turkey Day in May-ish 2026

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This year’s Turkey Day in May marathon technically took place on the first Saturday in June, mostly because May was packed with other commitments. I knew I couldn’t skip it, but I couldn’t find a way to make it happen in May, so we broke tradition and held it in June. Speaking of tradition, we also had to swap my wife’s usual lineup of amazing pizzas for store-bought frozen ones. After dealing with mold remediation in our bathrooms, money was a little tight, so we took the cheaper route. But once the first movie started, I don’t think anyone cared!

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Mystery Photo 6-22

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Almost done with the first month of summer. I know it’s not too popular to say, but I’m counting the days until fall. Sure, that means Halloween is closer, but really, as I’ve stated here many times before, I don’t like the heat. Granted, we’ve had it pretty good hear this last week, so I’m not complaining too much… But pretty soon Halloween decor will start appearing in stores, if it hasn’t already! But let’s get to why we’re here. Last week’s photo was from Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957), starring John Agar and Gloria Talbott. Only got 2 correct answers sent in and they were from Hoby Abernathy and Kevin Hart! Well done!

So going with something a little newer with this week’s photo. Take a look and see what you think. Just remember to send your guess to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Movie Review: Broken Beak

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(2026)
Written & Directed by Christian Carroll
Starring Briar Rose, Lydia Peckham, Katlyn Wong, Joel Tobeck, Jonny Brugh, Bruce Hopkins

I love when films bring something new to the table when it comes to the “monster”. And by that, I mean, when we delve into the rich, untapped folklore, or even creating a new creature that sounds like it could come from a hundred-year-old tale, it is so refreshing compared to just another vampire, zombie, or other monster that we’ve seen over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I love those monsters too, but it’s always nice to see something different. And we get that with Broken Beak.

The story, originally called The Burning of Broken Beak, was written and directed by Christian Carroll, who also provided the score too! Busy guy. This is Carroll’s first horror feature, and I like what I’ve seen. The film stars off with a brutal murder of a man who just made a huge deal to sell some land in New Zealand that is going to be turned into a huge tourist area. After the deal, he wanders a deserted beach area, not sure if he’s celebrating or regretting what he’s done, but then he is brutally stabbed to death by what looks like a person in a bird costume?

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Re-Animator Book Coming

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For those fans of this iconic film from Stuart Gordon, then you may need to add this to your library. Author Eugenio Ercolani, who has given us so many great commentaries and interviews already on Blu-ray releases, now has compiled the ultimate book on this incredible film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1922 serialized story. Coming from Pulse Books, this 256-page volume will have interviews with key makers of the film, information on the production schedules, the special effects, the sequels, the original source material, and so much more. The book doesn’t just cover the original film, but from the original story to the first film, the sequels, the comics, and everything else in the Herbert West legacy.

Within the pages, you’ll hear from actors Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Abbott, Nico Baixas, producer director of the two sequels, Brian Yuzna, and many more people involved. The list of contributors to this volume is also pretty impressive, with a wide range of film historians, such as Heather Wixson, Nanni Cobretti, Mike Foster, Andrea Meroni, Troy Howarth, Giacomo Calzoni, and Claude Gaillard.

This was funded by a Kickstarter platform, which has now ended. But you can still pledge to it to order your copy, as well as some other cool items and other book titles. Just click HERE to get to that page.

Movie Review: The Devil Whispered My Name

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aka Un susurro invocó mi nombre (2025)
Directed by Emilia Cotella & John Mathis
Starring Clara Kovacic, Valeria Beltramo, Cristian Cavo, Andrés Malakkian

It seems that Argentinian horror films are becoming a thing. After what we’ve seen lately, especially from Demián Rugna, it seems that country has been making some impressive entries in the horror genre. And we love it!

This story takes a little folklore, a little mysticism, and of course, some religion thrown into the mix. A group of five young adolescents who go off on a little camping trip, as well as another trip. They concoct some sort of brew to drink that will expand their minds. Carla promises her best friend Maria that she’s got her back and that everything will be fine. But when Carla finally wakes up after having some frightening visions, she finds Maria laying in a pool of blood on the riverbank, with what looks like some sort of a ritualistic design carved into her chest.

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Naschy Book: Bigger, Stronger, Faster!

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Okay, maybe not faster, but you’ll be stronger once you pick up this new volume. But very soon the updated volume of MUCHAS GRACIAS SEÑOR LOBO will be ready for us eager fans to have in their hands. But much like the last edition, to get it here in the states, it’s not cheap. But let’s get to the good stuff first, shall we?

Back in 2012, when they had first expanded this book from a small paperback version that was all in black and white, to a massive volume with 400 pages of around 1400 images of memorabilia from Naschy’s films, from posters, lobby cards, stills, and much more other promotional material, from countries around the world. But now, there is over 200 MORE pages and more than 2200 images, many are being published for the first time. The text is both in German and English, and it comes with a foreword by Naschy’s son, Sergio Molina. This new volume is still in full color, “a premium hardcover with a rounded spine, thread-sewn binding and partial spot varnish on the cover.”

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