Movie Review: The Vigil (2019)

The Vigil (2019)
Directed by Keith Thomas
Starring Dave Davis, Malky Goldman, Menashe Lustig, Lynn Cohen

When this screener came across our desk and I read what the story was about, I was excited to see a different take or angle on a subject used many times in the horror genre, one taken from a Orthodox Jewish side. A troubled young man agrees to be an overnight “shomer”, someone who watches and prays over a recently deceased member of the church. With such a simple story, I was curious to see what this picture could offer. What I found out was that no matter the background, religious beliefs, or any of that, the feelings of guilt, horror, and creepiness can be found all around us. Continue reading

Barbara Shelley – Rest in Peace

Okay 2021… not a good way to start out. Not even a week in and now this? This one stings.

The news came out early yesterday that actress Barbara Shelley passed away. So many great roles. So many incredible performances. Where does one start? Obviously the work she did for Hammer are incredible, especially in Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), giving duel performances going from an uptight wife to a seductive vampiress, to her role as Barbara in Quatermass and the Pit (1967), when she puts on the apparatus that lets her see visions of the past through these long (no-so) dead aliens. But no matter what film or the size of her role, she was always so memorable and such a joy to watch. She brought an elegance to whatever role she was playing, making her characters seem lifelike, relatable, and more importantly, believable. From her early genre appearances in Cat Girl (1957) and Blood of the Vampire (1958) to Village of the Damned (1960), to even her appearance on Doctor Who in the ’80s, it was also great to see her on screen. Continue reading

2020 Year End Review: Part 4 – The Return of the Drive-In

One of the positives for 2020 was the resurgence of the drive-in theaters. With all the social distancing, a drive-in theater is the perfect place to go see a movie, staying safe by not having to be in a large group of people. In fact, we made more trips to the drive-ins this year than we normally do, and had a blast each and every time. It was just a magical return to somewhat of our normal convention or movie viewing get-togethers, even though everyone was very good about keeping our space and wearing masks. But even with that, it was so much fun, and a little resemblance of the much-missed conventions. Continue reading

Mystery Photo 1-4

Welcome to the New Year and our first Mystery Photo of 2021. Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. But let’s get on with business, shall we? Our photo from last week was from Master of Horror (1965), a film with two tales of terror from Edgar Allan Poe. The shot I used was from “The Cask of Amontillado”, which is one of my favorites from Poe. Congrats to Michael Shield and Alan Tromp for sending in the correct answer. Well done and way to start off the new year!

Now today’s photo is another film that might not be too well known, but I think represents our love of horror. So give it a look and see what you think. Remember, do not post your answers here so others can have a guess. Just send your guess to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

2020 Year End Review: Part 3 – Best Viewings!

Because all the shows being cancelled, like many of us, I’ve spend more time sitting at home than I usually do. Take away not only the shows, but heading into Chicago for movie screenings, or just gathering with friends, it meant much more time in the Krypt. But what that means is that I’ve set a personal record for the number of movies that I’ve watched this year. I think previously my records were in the high 200s. I don’t think I’ve ever broken even 300. Well, this year, I’ve watched a total of 422 titles. So yeah, I took advantage of all of that extra time. Plus, while I usually tend to watch a lot of movies that I’ve seen before, 259 of that total were new movies, or at least new to me. That is one of the many things I love about cinema, that there will never be a time when there won’t be new titles to discover. Whether they were made last month, or a century ago, if you keep looking, you’ll find some amazing pieces of cinema out there. Continue reading

2020 Year End Review: Part 2 – Those We Have Lost… But Not Forgotten

Each year, we lose more and more of our movie heroes, and this year was brutal. We lost directors, actors, composers, journalists, and so many more people that were responsible for creating amazing memories for us, and those that wrote about them, hoping to inspire people to seek them out. But as I always say each year, it is because of our love of the genre that these names and the work they have given us will never die. We will continue to keep their memory and their work alive for years to come, even introducing their work to more people. So from us at the Krypt, we thank you and you can rest knowing you will never be forgotten. Continue reading

2020 Year End Review: Part 1 – Happy New Year!

Boy… 2020. What a freaking year, huh? When is the last time you could describe a whole year as a dumpster fire? Honestly though, all joking aside, even with the pandemic still raging on, with all the negativity around, idiots running about making the human race an even more embarrassment to the aliens watching us on their favorite reality show (“Did you see what they did on Earth Live last night???”), believe it or not, there is still a lot to be grateful and thankful for, as well as some people out there still working hard to put forth good in the world. Sometimes you have to look a little harder, but it is there. Continue reading

Kryptic Army Mission – January 2021: LET IT SNOW!

Welcome to 2021, Soldiers! Hopefully if you’re seeing this, you have survived New Year’s Eve and are at least capable enough to still read! Obviously, we have decided to continue our tour of duty for another year, to hopefully inspire you out there to continue to seek out and watch some films that you haven’t see yet, maybe ones that have been on your “Need to See” list for a while, but just haven’t gotten around to them. Maybe this will give you that chance. Continue reading

Movie Review: Prince of Darkness

(1987)
Director John Carpenter
Starring Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Annie Marie Howard, Ann Yen, Ken Wright, Peter Jason, Alice Cooper, Thom Bray, Robert Grasmere, Ken Wright

This is another one of those examples where you have an opinion of a film from the first time you view it, but then at some point in your life, you revisit it to find yourself seeing something more than that first time. I was there opening weekend for this new Carpenter flick and don’t remember if I actually knew anything about the story before hand, but would never miss out on seeing his latest. My first thoughts were that even though I loved the music, I didn’t feel the same way about the film. I felt it was too slow and honestly the idea of a liquid evil or monster was just damn silly. I was also a little confused at who they were trying to bring from the other side, Satan or Satan’s father? Just a little too disjointed for me. At least, at that time. While my love of the score Carpenter did never wavered, eventually scoring a copy from a Japanese CD release (at a pretty penny), I never thought to go back to the film. I mean, if you don’t like something, why go back? But when one of Shout Factory’s Blu-rays came out, I picked it up during a sale and I figured I better give it another shot, trying to be a little more open-minded this time. Continue reading