Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Kryptic Army Mission: Sept. 2021 – Integration!

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Back on Sept. 2nd, 1963, George Wallace, the Governor of the state of Alabama, attempted to forcibly halt the integration of public schools by surrounding the building with state troopers. Thankfully it was only temporary and soon schools in Alabama were the first to be integrated with both colored and white students. Wallace stated that he wasn’t racist but claimed Blacks were inclined to “atrocious acts”. Hate to say this, but I think all races have participated in that. Just asked the “witches” that were burned at the stake, or innocent people tortured to death by the church because they didn’t follow their religion.

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Mystery Photo 8-30

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Sorry for the late update here, but we were away the whole weekend, getting way too little sleep, but watching a ton of movies at the drive-in and eating way too much unhealthy (but damn tasty) food! We got home last evening, but I was so tired I could barely concentrate to real emails! I’m a little rested now, so let’s get to business. Our photo from last week was the 1959 French film Les yeux sans visage, or known here in the states as Eyes Without a Face. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t recommend it enough. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Cate Cameron, Peggie Christie, Brian Doering, Christopher Dyer, Dave Fronto, Kevn Hart, Erik Martin, Gary McGuire, Kristin Wicks, Nick Wilson, William Wilson. Always warms my heart to see people identifying a classic film.

Okay, this week’s film might be a tough one, but a tricky one, but if you pay attention, you might see a secret sign to give you a clue. Just remember to send your answer to me through email, at jon@kitleyskrypt.com (best way for me NOT to forget it). Good Luck!

Monsters, Makeup & Effects!

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With a heading like that, I knew it would get you in here! Back in November of 2018, author Heather Wixson published her book Monster Squad: Celebrating the Artists Behind Cinema’s Most Memorable Creatures, which featured interviews with 20 different makeup and special effects people in the industry. You can read our review of it HERE, but now she is back with a new book, covering more artists, creators, and technicians that have help entertain us over the years.

The new book is called Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Conversations with Cinema’s Greatest Artists – Vol. 1 is a “celebration of the creative spirit and artistic endeavors of those who have worked tirelessly for decades to create the memorable monsters, creatures and onscreen personas that have terrified us, made us laugh and filled us with a sense of wonder.” Published by Dark Ink, this 500 page book runs only $25.99 on Amazon, but they will be having a special book signing and Dark Delicacies in Burbank, CA, that you can either attend, or order your copy to be shipped to you. They have both hardcovers ($30) and softcover ($19.99) versions available. They haven’t listed any other guests besides Wixson to be there, but I have a feeling they will be adding a few more names that were covered in the book. I got my copy of Monster Squad this way, so it is well worth the extra month. Plus it supports a great independent book store at the same time!

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Marilyn Eastman – Rest in Peace

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Best known for appearing in George Romero’s genre-starting film Night of the Living Dead, Marilyn Eastman was doing so much more than just appearing in it. Not only is she the zombie seen eating the bug off the tree, but she also handled some of the makeup, props, and so much more, like most others that worked on that low budget classic. While she only appeared in 2 other features, she will always be remembered as poor Helen Cooper, who meets the deadly end of a gardening trowel from her own daughter.

For as long as their are zombie fans, this little picture made outside of Pittsburgh by a bunch of friends will keep these hardworking people alive and well, no matter how long they have left us. Our thoughts go out to her friends and family during this difficult time.

Mystery Photo 8-23

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It seems our photo from last week was a bit too easy since we got a ton of correct answers. Or maybe it was my little comment about not starring too long? Or, you guys just know your classic films, especially when we get into Hammer territory? The shot was from The Gorgon (1964), starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and the lovely Barbara Shelley. May not be one of their best, but still a fine piece of entertainment. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Aaron AuBuchon, Peggy Christie, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Troy Howarth, Doug Lamoreux, Gary Laughner, Gary McGuire, Bryan Senn, Michael Shields, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Well done!

So this week’s photo might be a wee bit tougher. But we’ll just have to wait and see. Take a peek and see what you can come up with. Just remember to send us your answer, by emailing us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck.

Super Monster Movie Fest Next Weekend!

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Just in case you might be late to the party, next weekend, Aug. 27th & 28th, at the Skyline Drive-in, they are holding their 10th annual Super Monster Movie Fest, with the theme this year of The Devil Made Us Do It, featuring 10 films dealing all things with the devil! We’ve been coming out to this event pretty much every year since 2012, and once again, we’re excited as hell to head out there next weekend as well!

Here is the final lineup and times for this year’s features:

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They’re Children … How Could They Be Bad?

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Well, pick up this new book and you’ll get close to 250 examples of just how bad kids can be! Evil Seeds: The Ultimate Movie Guide to Villainous Children is out now and available on Amazon, and priced at only $19.95! Edited by Vanessa Morgan, we get reviews on some of the “creepiest, weirdest, and most dangerous kids to inhabit cinematic landscape, sourced from over 40 different countries.” This means that no matter how hardcore of a horror fan you are, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll find a few titles in here you never knew existed, such as a Turkish version of The Bad Seed! Hitting just under 400 pages, with a variety of talented writers, they will delve into the depths of deviant offspring, from the alien invaders to young sociopaths, this volume will cover it all.

Morgan has previous given us volumes on vampires in Strange Blood: 71 Essays on Offbeat and Underrated Vampire Movies, and killer beasts with When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals, both of which are available on Amazon.

To order your copy of Evil Seeds, just click HERE.

Movie Review: City of the Dead

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(1960)
Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
Starring Christopher Lee, Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Tom Naylor, Betta St. John, Venetia Stevenson, Valentine Dyall, Norman MacOwan.

If you’re looking for a prime example of the beauty of black and white cinema, then look no further then this title. This has so much atmosphere that you’ll swear the fog is seeping right out from your TV into your living room. Add in the fact that the different shades of the monochromatic colors are used so well to give us such strong whites and the enveloping darkness of the blacks.

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Movie Review: Meat Grinder

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(2009)
Directed by Tiwa Moeithaisong
Starring Mai Charoenpura, Anuway Niwartwong, Wiradit Srimalai, Rattanaballang Tohssawat, Duangta Tungkamanee

When the press release for this one calls it a “proud member of the ‘torture-porn’ sub-genre”, I wasn’t looking forward to sitting through yet another Saw / Hostel inspired movie that is about nothing more than seeing people getting beaten, tortured, sliced up and killed. Hate to sound old fashioned here, but for me to be entertained, really entertained, then the movie has to have a good story. Sure, we not against gore for gore sake, and have enjoyed many movies over the years that don’t offer much more than that. But as of late, since there has been a constant onslaught of these types of movies, they get really old, really quick.

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Mystery Photo 8-16

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I apologize for not having a new photo up last week but just had too many fires going to get it done. I hope to have some news to announce soon that will sort of explain some of the lack of updates as of late. But for now, let us get to the business at hand. Our last photo was from Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1989 ghost epic Sweet Home. A nice old fashion haunted house movie that is pretty damn effective. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Kevin Hart, Erik Martin, and Gary McGuire. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo. Don’t stare too long or bad things can happen! Just remember to send your answer to us, at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck!