June 6th, 1944 is remembered for being D-Day, which was when the Allied Forces staged the largest amphibious landing in history, on the northern coast of France, with 150,000 Allied soldiers and vehicles hitting those beaches. 15,000 soldiers were killed and/or wounded on that single day. Pretty mind blowing when you really think about what they had to do. The bravery, the guts, and the balls, to land right and march right into hell. Continue reading
Richard E. Cunha
Born March 4th, 1922 – Died Sept. 18th, 2005
While some of the directors that worked in the low budget film markets might not have their names remembered, the movies they created usually are more than remembered. Mr. Cunha is one of those. During WWII, he served as an aerial photographer, later making training films, newsreels, and even documentaries, which is where he learned his craft. Once he got to Hollywood, he worked on a few films that would cement his name in horror history.
Keep in mind, he made these four features which were all released by Astor Pictures, in 1958. Pretty amazing when you think how long it takes to make feature films today. Cunha told Mary Baumann in his book The Astounding B-Movie Monster that “these films were made in six 10-hour days and had a lot of fun doing them. These films are: Giant from the Unknown, She Demons, Missile to the Moon, and Frankenstein’s Daughter.
Are these high quality made films? No. But are they entertaining? Damn straight! So the next time you are watching one of these, make sure you give note to the director’s name (not to mention the countless others that worked on it) and give a little acknowledgement to their hard work!
From Beyond
Released 2003 by La-La Land Records
13 Tracks, with a total running time of 46:06 min.
Music composed by Richard Band
At my very first horror convention, back in 1988 which took place in California, I had picked up the soundtrack for this on LP and I immediately fell in love with it. Composer Richard Band created a score that has a perfect combination of a science feel but still being able to create some very creepy elements to it. I was very bummed when I got rid of my albums and had to wait more than a few years for this to get an official release on CD, which I picked up right when it came out. Continue reading
Some time ago, when this whole pandemic thing started, I was posting a question about your favorites. It was basically done to give people quarantined at home something to do to help pass the time. Even though it was getting a pretty good response from people, after about a week though, I stopped. But I was recently reminded about something else it was doing, which was getting us fellow fans to communicate with each other, posting replies, and getting somewhat of a conversation going. Since we’re all fans of this great genre, no matter of your political, religious views, or whatever else, it was allowing fans to leave all that behind and just talk movies. Continue reading
This year’s Super Monster Movie Fest at the Skyline Drive-In, in Shelbyville, IN, is having an all bugs themed movie marathon! Taking place on August 28th and 29th, you’ll get to see older classics along with some more modern day ones, all dealing with giant bugs! Here’s the complete lineup: Continue reading
The Black Scorpion (1957)
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro
1957 really was one of the best year’s when it came to fun sci-fi/horror pictures, with plenty of giant monsters running around causing havoc. And this film is a prime example of that. What would make this giant monster flick even better? How about when it includes stop-animation work from the one and only Willis O’Brien, the one responsible for bringing the original King Kong to life in 1933 (and never even got a screen credit for it!?!?!). So the creature effects in here are everything to make a monster fan out a young kid, or bring back the kid in an old monster fan. Continue reading
For those fans out there like me, that grew up watching Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, we all wondered at some point in our fandom, “I wonder whatever happened to those paintings?” Now, not only will those questions be answered, but soon you’ll be able to page through a single book and view every one of those incredible and memorable pieces of art. Continue reading
Almost forgot today was Monday since it’s a holiday! But even though it is a holiday, we’re still working to bring you a little puzzle at the beginning of the week. But before we go, let’s review last week’s photo. It was from Tobe Hooper’s 1985 film Lifeforce! I figured if I would have put a shot of Mathilda May in there, everyone would have gotten it, so I went with something a little different. But congrats to the ones that did send in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Troy Howarth, Lee Nattrass, Gavin Schmitt, Vincent Simonelli, and William Wilson.
Okay, let’s get to this week’s photo. A bit older but still a fun one. Just send us your guess to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!
Hellraiser
Released in 1987 by Cinedisc
14 Tracks, with a total running time of 43:08 min.
Music composed by Christopher Young.
There are some contemporary scores that resonate with fans just as much as the themes from Jaws, The Omen, or even The Exorcist. They may not be as familiar with the normal public, but if you play a few seconds of Christopher Young’s score from Hellraiser, they will know what it is. Maybe because the film itself is pretty iconic and well known, but what Young has done here is make something special, and lasting. Continue reading
The Alligator People (1959)
Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Starring Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney Jr., George Macready, Frieda Inescort, Richard Crane, Douglas Kennedy.
As a young movie fan, we would get used to the fact that sometimes, just sometimes, the movie title didn’t exactly live up to what actually took place in the film. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but it did happen every now and then. Still does today, to be completely honest. But not with The Alligator People! So for that fact alone, you have to give the makers of this one credit! An alligator head on a human body now may get a snicker or laugh, but as a kid, it was just awesome. Even excluding that, there are many things about this film that still make it enjoyable today. Continue reading
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