Mystery Photo 4-5

Welcome to April! I would say now that we’re a quarter way into 2021, I do feel things are looking up a little better. It honestly looks like we may actually have some conventions this year. At least, fingers are crossed. But let’s get to the real reason you’re looking at this post. The Mystery Photo! Last week’s photo was from the 1962 film Burn Witch Burn, or the original UK title, Night of the Eagle. While the original title does make sense in the film, I have to say I prefer the American one. We had quite a few correct guesses this time out, which makes me very happy that a lot have seen this one, since it really is a stellar film. Kudos to the following: Hoby Abernathy, Cate Cameron, Aaron Christensen, Craig Clark, Chris Dyer, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Troy Howarth, Gary McGuire, Charles Miller, Lee Nattrass,Jeff Owens, Tim Palace, and Todd Warren.

But let’s get on to this week’s photo. Going back in a time a bit for this early classic. Take a look and see if you recognize it. All you need to do is send us your guess at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Winterbeast Comes to Blu-Ray!!!

In a world where you don’t think that miracles can happen, here is your proof that you are wrong.

Vinegar Syndrome is releasing their first volume in a (hopefully) new series called Home Grown Horrors. This first set contains 3 low budget films, that as all cinema lovers know, that doesn’t mean they aren’t damn entertaining, right? The titles are Beyond Dream’s Door (1989), Fatal Exam (1990), and finally Winterbeast (1992)!

Now, if I tell you that this set is worth buying just for Winterbeast alone, I honestly can say that I would not be lying. Winterbeast is a sheer masterpiece of low budget filmmaking, that has gore, stop animated monsters, and so many W-T-F moments that you’ll just love it. But that movie aside, the amount of extras for all three of these titles is just staggering, and shows the love that Vinegar Syndrome has for the films they put out. All three films have been newly scanned and restored in 2k from 16mm original camera negative, with some footage taken from Super 8mm or tape inserts, but all looking better than they ever have before, with new and archived commentaries, and plenty of new features and interviews.

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Giant Monster Sale at McFarland Books!

In conjunction with the release of Godzilla vs Kong, McFarland Books is having a 30% off sale on all their books dealing with Kaiju and all the other giant monster books they have, through April 30th. Just using the code KAIJU30, you can save some gigantic $$ here on some really amazing and some even essential titles for your library. Such as David Kalat’s A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. Normally retail price is $29.95 now you can get it for just over $20. Or maybe Jason Barr’s The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema’s Biggest Monsters.

All you need to do is click the link HERE and start adding some titles and saving some money. If you ever wanted to do some series study of Japan’s famous monsters, this is a great place to start. There is a wide variety of titles here, even including not just Godzilla type films, but all giant monsters, such as listed in the book Apocalypse Then. Plus, I’m sure the more you read about these films, you’ll discover some titles that you’ll want to seek out to further your kaiju education!

Friday Favorites – Underrated Zombies!

Yes, Friday Favorites is back from the grave! Once again! I keep trying to make this a regular feature but life just seems to keep getting in the way. Or I’m just not planning far enough ahead! Either way, it will be back for this month at least, especially because we’re going to do something a little different for April here.

For each of the Friday Favorite themes this month, we’re going to be looking for not your Favorite per say, but one that you think is drastically underrated. Meaning you think it is a great film but not too many people seem to know about it, or it isn’t one that is usually brought up in conversations about that particular sub-genre. For example, this week’s topic is zombie movies. Now we all know there are hundreds of these living dead flicks wandering about, and we all know about Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Fulci’s Zombie, or even Peter Jackson’s Braindead. But I know we all know a few of these titles that were really enjoyable but yet never seem to come up when this topic is discussed or examined.

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Kryptic Army Mission: April 2021 – Evil Kids!

Deviant little children, whether being possessed by demonic forces, or just born bad, they have been a part of horror cinema for a very long time. One of the earliest, if not the first, was little Patty McCormick in The Bad Seed (1956), that was based on the successful stage play of the same name. McCormick did so well that she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as the evil little Rhoda Penmark. But these evil little offspring didn’t stop there. We had alien invasions in Village of the Damned (1960) to all sorts of nasty tikes in the ’70s, most notable little Damien Thorne in The Omen (1976).

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Night Gallery Store!

Last month we posted about receiving our copy of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: The Art of Darkness book, that is filled with all the amazing images from the gallery itself from the original TV show. For those of us that grew up on this TV show, to be able to browse through this volume just brings back so many great memories.

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Movie Review: The Deadly Spawn

(1983)
Directed by Douglas McKeown
Starring Michael Robert Coleman, Charles George Hildebrandt, James Brewster, Elissa Neil,
Karen Tighe, Tom DeFranco, John Schmerling, Ethel Michelson

Back in the era of video stores, the first time you walked through the horror section and saw the big box video of Return of the Aliens Deadly Spawn, you knew you had to see that movie immediately! How could it be bad when you have this huge monster with three huge tooth-filled mouths, and blood and body parts everywhere? Granted, it was actually just The Deadly Spawn, but was changed slightly to key into the success of Alien. No matter what the title was, it was hard to walk away from that first viewing with a little slack in your jaw. For a low budget film from some guys in New Jersey, it became a very memorable ’80s monster flick for most fans.

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Mystery Photo 3-29

Here we are at our last Mystery Photo for March. That means the year is a quarter way done. Yeah. Happy Monday, right? Okay, down to business. Our photo from last week got quite a few responses, which just thrills me because it is from an excellent and creepy as hell movie. The film is Session 9. Such an amazing sense of dread throughout that running time. Kudos to the following who sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Scott Bradley, Cate Cameron, Aaron Christensen, Peggie Christie, Brian Doering, Chris Dyer, Kevin Hart, Steve Hyder, Bryan Martinez, Gary McGuire, and Greg Wojick. Well done, people!

Now let’s get on to today’s pic, shall we? Just remember not to post your answers here so that everyone can have a guess. Just send us an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Soundtrack Review: The House that Screamed

house-that-screamed-soundtrack-2The House that Screamed
Released by Singular Soundtrack
16 Tracks, with a total running time of 29:40 seconds.
Music Composed, Arranged, and Conducted by Waldo de los Rios

For this Spanish thriller that ventures into the realm of the Italian giallo, composer Waldo del los Rios sticks to more of a classical sounding theme, but does have it varying in range and tempo, following the action on screen. Because of the mystery aspect here, there are a lot of slower and quieter paced pieces, that really help set the mood. There are several tracks where we have a piece of music in the background and something different going  on in the forefront at the same time.

We have a combination of pianos, harp, and a variety of wind instruments, all used to create this era of suspense and mystery, and does it so well. Starting with the haunting notes of the opening track on what sounds like a piano slightly out of tune, it gives a haunting feel to it, which then morphs into more of a bigger sounding opening, but still retaining that theme. But the time we get to track titled Madame Forneau, we include some vocals into this short but very memorable piece titled after the head mistress of the school.

But the real treat here is Murder at the Greenhouse, where the film shows it’s giallo influence with a quiet and eerie piano piece that is played over one of the murders, which slows down as the victim dies. Not getting slower but as if the playback is being slowed down. It works so well in the film and is one of the best elements of the score, which shows the talent of this composer. For fans of Spanish horror, this score, along with the film itself, is a must.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster

I will watch any movie that Boris Karloff is in, no questions asked. Even if he in in there in a small role or cameo, I will watch it. He has always been my favorite actor and the movie that made him famous, James Whale’s Frankenstein, remains in my top ten films of all time. I also can never get tired of reading new books on him and his life, or seeing documentaries on this talented man. Now with this new documentary coming out from director Thomas Hamilton, we have the opportunity to maybe learn even more about this unbelievably talented actor.

You will get to hear from a wide range of filmmakers and scholars and why Karloff is important to them and film history. Names such as Guillermo Del Toro, John Landis, Joe Dante, Christopher Plummer, Peter Bogdanovich, Ron Perlman, Leonard Maltin, Christopher Frayling, Sara Karloff, Gregory Mank, Roger Corman, Stephanie Powers, Ian Ogilvy, Norman Jewison, Orson Bean, Caroline Munro, Stephen Jacobs, Dick Miller, Peter Asher, David J. Skal, Donald Glut, Lee Grant, Sharyn Moffett, and more.

Check out the trailer below and make sure to look for it when it does become available.