Friday Favorites: Underrated Unusual Monsters

Our series of Friday Favorites dedicated to Underrated Films continues this week with the … unusual. We’re talking monsters, but not the usual fare, like vampires or werewolves, but one where someone came up with something pretty creative, such as a half-man / half jellyfish creature in Sting of Death (1966), or the chlorophyll-blooded monster from Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968)? But then is one that you just love but is just not getting the love that you think it deserves. Now these don’t need to be cheesy or schlocky, those were the first two that came to mind. But even something like the film Splinter (2008), which had a very unique and amazing monster in there, not to mention being a great little film. Remember though, we’re talking about UNDERRATED monsters, so as original and unique Alien might be, it definitely ain’t underrated. So dig deep here, people.

So let’s here those titles! Give us some movies to add to our watch list!

Movie Review: Astro Zombies

(1969)
Directed by Ted V. Mikels
Screenplay by Ted V. Mikels and Wayne Rodgers
Starring John Carradine, Wendell Corey, Tom Pace, Tura Satana, Joan Patrick,
Rafael Campos, Vince Barbi, Joe Hoover, Victor Izay

I first met Ted V. Mikels at the very first Cinema Wasteland, back in Sept. of 2000, where he was set up next to us in the vendor room. I knew of his work, from seeing trailers, some other clips, and seeing him in some documentaries, but my appreciation of his really developed after that first meeting, since he was so honored to be there to meet his fans. Every time someone came up, he would stand up and greet them with a handshake and honest hello. I mention this only because to really appreciate his work, you need to know and understand the man. Always on the low budget side of filmmaking, Mikels had that passion for the industry. He knew how to do just about everything in the business, from writing to directing to editing and more. Sure, some may say that he wasn’t that great in any of those duties, but I still say for any filmmaker to create just one film that has lasted the test of time, let alone many of them, that is a true filmmaker. And Mikels is definitely one of them.

Continue reading

Mystery Photo 4-19

Welcome back to another glorious Monday! Hope everyone had a decent weekend and are all excited about getting to the new week!!! Yeah … same here. But at least we have a new Mystery Photo, right? But first, let’s discuss last week’s photo, a little tribute to the late Giannetto De Rossi. It was from Antonio Margheriti’s 1980 epic Cannibal Apocalypse, which was also known as Cannibals in the Streets, Invasion of the Fleshhunters, or more than a few other titles. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Kevin Hart, Troy Howarth, Gary McGuire, Lee Nattrass, James Schmeichel, Kristin Wicks. Well done!

Okay, so this week’s photo is below. Take a peek into the photo, but don’t stare too long or you might see someone staring back! As always, just send your answer to us in an email (jon@kitleyskrypt.com) if you think you might know it. Good Luck!

Friday Favorites: Underrated Vampire Films

We’re continuing our Friday Favorites series with underrated titles. We all know there are a ton of vampire films, and a lot of them not that great. But we also know there are plenty out there that seem to slip away into the night or disappear with the morning sunlight. Now is your chance to step forward and let us know some that we may have not have heard about.

Now I’m not going to be too picky here other than it needs to be about vampires, in some form or another. Could be a traditional one or one that is more psychological. Could be realistic or more allegorical. I’m just looking for titles that are good but don’t seem to be talked about as often as they should. One that I am always trying bring up is Larry Fessenden’s Habit (1995) that he wrote, directed, and stars in. There is a lot going on here, from maybe being just a dream, delusion, or just a traditional vampire story. But it works so well in any and all those departments. I would HIGHLY recommend this one.

So let’s hear what YOU got.

Enzo Sciotti – Rest in Peace

Enzo Sciotti is a name you might not know, but if you’re a horror fan, you know his work. Sciotti is one of those unsung heroes in the art world that created such stunning poster art that his work is immediately recognizable.

Developing his artistic skills at an early age, and being encouraged by his mother, he actually started working in the film industry making posters when he was only 16 years old! He has created artwork for more than 3000 movie posters. Take a look below and I’m sure you’ll recognize every single one of his beautiful masterpieces, from posters to DVD and Blu-ray covers. Not only was his artwork incredibly accurate when it came to actors and actresses, but the layout of the designs were just as impressive.

Continue reading

Giannetto De Rossi – Rest in Peace

We have lost one of the premiere makeup artist from the movie world. Being one of thousands in the industry, to have your work literally change the face of a specific horror sub-genre, is something pretty damn amazing. Italian makeup and special effects man Giannetto De Rossi was one of them. This talent that showed us what putrefying flesh of the living dead should look like, passed away on Sunday, at the age of 78 years old.

Coming from a family in the industry, with both his father and grandfather working as makeup artist, it didn’t take long for Giannetto to realize that he was pretty good at it as well. He started working on films in his early 20s and never looked back. In 1974, working with Spanish director Jorge Grau, he created some unforgettable zombies, as well as some over-the-top gore effects in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, which remain still impressive almost 50 years later. A few years later, he would create the look for the Italian zombie in Lucio Fulci’s Zombie (1979). Not only were there some incredible gore effects, but De Rossi made the zombies look scary as hell. With dirt packed faces, worms crawling on them, and plenty of the gooey red stuff, he made these creatures a walking nightmare, even before they clenched their teeth into your flesh.

Continue reading

Mystery Photo 4-12

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope everyone had a stellar weekend. I know I did, mainly because I feel like I’ve done three Iron Man marathons back to back. Okay, I just moved my office from downstairs to upstairs, but carrying about 1300 books, 6 bookcases (most of them by myself) and countless trips up and down the stairs, I am feeling every bit of my age! But I’m finally moved in for the most part and am very happy with the new (and slightly bigger) Kryptic office! But you didn’t come here to hear me whine, did you? Let’s get to the official business at hand. Our photo from last week was from the early horror film The Vampire Bat (1933), another fun little picture with Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray. Sure, a little melodramatic, but still a lot of fun. Kudos out to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Gary McGuire, and Bryan Senn.

So this week’s photo is more of a tribute than anything, which some will understand right away, while others will understand at some point. So give it a look and see what you can come up with. Just send us an email with your guess, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck.

Friday Favorites: Underrated Ghost Stories

I’ve always said that I’ve always loved a really good ghost story. But unfortunately, they don’t seem to be as easy to make as one would think. But we know there are some really great titles out there, where it is not just scary, but also has a really intriguing and interesting story, or a intricate puzzle to be solved to free the disembodied spirit.

Because a lot of haunted houses are really about the ghosts that haunt them, we’ll include that in our theme this week. But it does have to be a ghost, not some evil or demonic force that resides there, but a lost soul or two.

Continue reading

Movie Review: Dead Snow

(2009)
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Starring Charlotte Frogner, Ørjan Gamst, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Jeppe Laursen, Evy Kasseth, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jenny Skavian, Bjørn Sundquist

If Peter Jackson was to remake Shock Waves (1977), but set it in the snowy mountains, then you would have Dead Snow. After getting a lot of internet hype, we had the chance to see this new Norwegian zombie film in the theater and just loved it. For someone to take a sub-genre that has been done to . . . death (sorry, couldn’t help it), co-writer and director Tommy Wirkola pulled out all the stops and gives us one bloody entertainingly good movie.

Continue reading

Opinions, Opinions, and More Opinions

There is a new book that just came out called 40s Universal Monsters: A Critical Commentary, covering all of the monster films that Universal put out during that decade. Author John T. Soister had published a similar book back in 2001 covering the Universal films of the 30s, entitled Of Gods and Monsters: A Critical Guide to Universal’s Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939. Now, along with contributors Henry Nicolella, Harry H. Long, & Dario Lavia, they take on the ’40s, covering 66 titles from The Invisible Man Returns to Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.

But what does have to do with opinions? Hear me out. Looking through my own library, I have several books that deal with the early days of cinema. If we’re talking about the silent era, we have Silent Screams by Steve Haberman, or Wayne Kinsey’s entry in his incredible Fantastic Films of the Decades series, as well as Troy Howarth’s own series, Tome of Terror, who has covered the decade of the ’30s as well. Kinsey is already up to halfway through the ’40s with his ongoing series. But then I also have Universal Horrors by Tom Weaver, Michael and John Brunas, Soister’s aforementioned Of Gods and Monsters, Mank’s Hollywood Cauldron, Senn’s Golden Horrors, and even a few others titles. Then we move into the ’50s and beyond with multiple titles in each of those as well.

Continue reading