Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Mystery Photo 10-5

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Welcome to our first official Mystery Photo of October! But before we get to this one, let’s go over last week’s photo. It was from Jorge Grau’s Blood Ceremony (1973), also known as The Legend of Blood Castle. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Brian Doering, Troy Howarth, & Todd Warren. Well done. Even better, is that this title will soon get a Blu-ray release from the fine folks at Mondo Macabro, which you’ll be able to pre-order at the end of the month. Can’t wait to see this one in a nice beautiful print!

So while sticking with a similar theme, take a peek at this week’s photo and see if you can recognize it. As always, just send us your answer in an email to me (jon@kitleyskrypt.com). Good Luck!

Caring Through Scaring

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My good friend Dr. AC (aka Aaron Christensen) is once again taking on a cause to try to raise money (and awareness) to something special to him. And he’s doing it through the use of scary movies. How cool is that? This is something that AC has been doing for the past 10 years, picking a cause that he feels needs some help, and doing it in a way that all horror fans can appreciate. As horror fans, the ones that a good chunk of society looks upon as deviants, degenerates, and the ones you wouldn’t want to be walking down the street with. Granted, we know that is all nonsense since pretty much all of my fellow horror brothers and sisters are some of the kindest, warm-hearted people I know. So this is a chance to show those people we care, as well as putting some good back into the community.

The way it works is that AC has committed himself to watch 1 horror movie a day for every day in October. Your part comes in my donating a specific amount of money per movie. For example, if you pledge a $1 a movie, at the end of the month, you would be donating $31. You can do more, you can do less. The whole point is to put some financial help to a cause that could use it. This year, AC has chosen Boxville.org to help out. To explain more about this, I’ll let AC do the talking… or writing.

Continue reading →

McFarland Book Horror Sale!

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McFarland has published a ton of different books on the horror genre, quite a few of which I’ve reviewed here on this site. Typically they are a bit on the pricy side, but now is your chance to save some big bucks this horror season because they are having a huge sale. You can now get 40% off each and every one of their huge selection of titles, if you order before Friday, October 16th. Use the coupon code HORROR to get your discount.

They have so many titles that I would consider must have for any library, such as Gregory Mank’s Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together. Normally priced at $40, for $24! Or what about learning about the underrated and talented Paul Blaisdell in Randy Palmer’s excellent biography Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. Normal price is $20 and now you can get it for only $12! Or want to learn everything you need to know about The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels? Then pick up Tom Weaver’s The Creature Chronicles. Normally priced at $40, now you can add it to your library for only $24. Not to mention so many other great titles they have listed. Just click HERE to start browsing. Pick up a few for yourself for the Halloween season, or, with the other holidays coming up and you have a horror fan that you need a gift for, now is the time to save some $$.

Friday Favorites: Halloween Season!

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For our Friday Favorites this week, the first Friday in October, I thought it might be a fun idea to hear if there is a film out there that you bust out every Halloween season. One that is a staple in your household that at some point during the season, you know you’ll be watching it. And if you do, is it one from your childhood that brings back fond memories of the holiday? Or is it simple a favorite that just makes you feel nice and scary!

So let’s here your Favorite Halloween title and why?

October Army Mission: Ghosts and Haunted Houses

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“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met nearly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

That is the opening paragraph of one of the greatest haunted house novels ever written, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. It can still pack a punch as much today as it did when it was first released in 1959. Continue reading →

Rawhead Rex Soundtrack? Seriously?

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When you think that there would be some movies that would never get a Blu-ray release, such as Rawhead Rex (1986). Then we find out that Kino Lorber decides that it not only needs a Blu-ray release, but a steelbook version as well! But then the soundtrack???

Silva Screen has announced they will be releasing Colin Towns’ score for Rawhead Rex on CD! The price is only $15.95 and has 15 tracks, but no idea how long the actual running time is. Granted, no matter how little I feel about this film, I will be adding the soundtrack to my collection. I mean, how could you not?

I couldn’t find any information on Silva Screen’s website about this release, but pre-orders are being taken by Screen Archives Entertainment, and is set to be released at the end of October. Click HERE to get to their page. They always have a great selection of soundtracks, and a lot of them at very good prices.

New Little Shoppe of Horrors Coming Soon!

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Coming in November, issue #45 of Little Shoppe of Horrors will be unleashed to the world! This time, their cover story is all about the making of The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), Hammer’s sequel to the film that helped put them in the big league, written by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. Hallenbeck’s work is always so informative and entertaining so I can’t wait to dig into it!

There will also be coverage on the making of Amicus’ The Creeping Flesh (1973) in an article by John Hamilton entitled The Creature Walks On the Earth, as well as David Gee’s Dracula and the Modern Age, which is about Don Houghton, who wrote the screenplays for some of the later Dracula films that took place in a modern setting, such as Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973).

Then there is more of the usual great stuff in there, such as more Hammer Diaries of Christopher Wicking, more History of Horror Film Fanzines, book reviews, and so much more, with a stunning front cover by William Stout.

You can order your copy by visiting their official site HERE. They don’t have it up on their site just yet, but keep checking back. And if you don’t have all of the back issues, then why not order a couple of those as well! These are essential reading for your Hammer (and other British horror films) history lessons!

Horror History: Richard Denning

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Richard Denning
Born March 27th, 1914, Died October 11th, 1998

Richard Denning (born as Richard Denninger, but was told to change it by the studio because it sounded too much like Dillinger!), never started out to be an actor, going to school for business, and even graduating cum laude with a master’s degree in business administration. But once he got the acting bug, there was no stopping him. After winning a radio contest called “Do You Want to Be an Actor?”, he got a screen test with Warner Bros. They passed on him, but he did sign with Paramount. While he didn’t make a ton of pictures in the horror genre, he made a few, including The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). He also appeared in Roger Corman’s The Day the World Ended (1955) or Edward Cahn’s Creature with the Atomic Brain (1955), or appearing with Mara Corday in The Black Scorpion (1957).

He would have a pretty successful career in non-genre films and a lot of television, but always left a mark with me in the genre pictures he did appear in, even when he was not the nicest character like in Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Denning had married one of the genre’s early scream queens, Evelyn Ankers, who starred in films like The Wolf Man (1941) and Son of Dracula (1943).

Mystery Photo 9-28

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One more Monday closer to October. In fact, this will be our last photo for this month, so we are almost there! No excuses to be busting out even more horror titles to watch over the next 31 days then we already normally do. To try and spark that urge, here’s a photo to get you started. But first, let’s go over last week’s photo. It was from Luigi Cozzi’s 1989 film The Black Cat. Also known as Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat and even Demons 6, this was actually supposed to be an unofficial sequel to Dario Argento’s Three Mothers Trilogy (Suspiria and Inferno). To say this didn’t hit upon the same level of genius as the previous Argento titles is bit of an understatement. This was a title that was very hard to find a copy decent enough to watch for many years. But now thanks to Severin Films, it will soon to be out on Blu-ray! Congrats to Tim Palace and William Wilson for sending in (and actually knowing the film) the correct answer. There might have been one more of you but I think I lost that message. If so, I apologize!

So let’s get to this week’s photo and see if we get any more takers. Remember, just send us an email (to jon@kitleyskrypt.com) with your answer. Good Luck.

Peveril To Unleash the Seven Golden Vampires!

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Coming in November of this year, Peveril Publishing will release their next book in their always amazing volumes on Hammer Films. This one tackles the 1973 film The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (amongst many other titles!), that was a co-production between Hammer and Hong Kong’s famous Shaw Brothers Studios. While this might not be a favorite of most Hammer fans (myself included), the history of this film is just as important because it is the last appearance of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the studio! But even besides that, no matter what the title, keeping the history alive and available to fans is always important, because the more you know about the actual production, both positive and negative, it will help you appreciate the film much more. 

Peveril has always published beautiful looking books, and this one looks to be no different. It includes both Cushing’s and director Roy Ward Baker’s annotated scripts, showing all the notes they wrote down during the production. Just seeing all the notes that Cushing made, even for this lesser production, still shows how much of a perfectionist he was when creating a character, or even returning to one. The book even shows the water color paintings of suggestions for his character’s costume. Continue reading →