Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Mystery Photo 4-20

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We’ve made it to another Monday. That is something we should celebrate, as we struggle through these tough times. But then, that means we’re (hopefully) another day closer to it all being over. Our photo from last week was from the opening credits to The Dunwich Horror (1970). This title was one of the first movies I rented when I bought my first VCR. Congrats to the following people for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Gregory Avery, Aaron Christensen, Craig Clark, Dave Fronto, Bob Hartman, Troy Howarth, Søren Henrik Jacobsen, Billy Nocera, Lee Nattrass, Michael Shields, and Vincent Simonelli. Nice to see this many people sending in the correct answer! Well done, indeed!

For this week’s photo, we’re going back to black and white. This was known by a couple of different titles so we’ll take any of them. But take a look and see if you can recognize where this shot is from. Just remember to send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Discover the Horror Book Still Available!

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Just a little friendly reminder, if you’re looking for something to read during these stay-at-home days, I do have copies of my first book, Discover the Horror still available for purchase. Just click on the book image directly to the right here and that will give you all the information needed. You can always order it from Amazon, but if you order it from me, I will gladly sign it, at no extra cost!

Also, if you have already got a copy and have read it, if you haven’t already, please take a few minutes and post a review on Amazon. It helps with the circulation. It would be much appreciated.

Or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 

Joel M. Reed – Rest in Peace

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Joel M. Reed - RIPJoel M. Reed is the man responsible for the notorious grindhouse flick Bloodsucking Freaks (1976), originally titled as The Incredible Torture Show, before Troma re-titled it and released it once again. He also directed a few other titles, such as Night of the Zombies (1981), probably the second most popular of his titles. Now, while I’m not personally a fan of Bloodsucking Freaks, anybody that is able to make a movie like that, and become an icon because of it, in this huge world of cinema, that is pretty impressive. So like it or not, as horror movie fans, we have to get credit where it is due.

Sadly though, Reed recently passed away at the age of 86. But if you are a fan of him and his work, then I would recommend you picking up a copy of John Szpunar’s book on Reed, entitled Bloodsucking Freak! The Life and Films of Joel M. Reed. Szpunar is not only a great writer, he is a huge fan of Reed and is one that can put the proper spotlight on this grindhouse icon.

Blood Sucking Freaks

Roar at the Music Box…Virtually!

by in Movie Events and tagged , , , | 3 Comments

roar

In 1981, director / writer / actor Noel Marshall made a film called Roar that is like no other film you’ve seen. And then when you learn the story of what really happened on the set, it is even more shocking and amazing that anybody survived. Tippi Hedren (who was married to Marshall), and her kids, including Melanie Griffith, all appear in the film about a guy who lives with a bunch of wild animals. Seems pretty simple, except they really were wild animals. Several of the cast and crew were injured, some pretty severe from these beasts.  Continue reading →

Naschy Worship!

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putrid-NaschyWolfmanAs many conventions and movie events that I’d go to every year, it was pretty rare when I would see someone wearing a Paul Naschy T-Shirt. For two reasons really. While he had a strong following, it wasn’t as strong as it should be. Plus, even more important, there just hardly any Naschy shirts available. So I decided to try and change that and had my friend and uber talented artist Putrid (aka Matt Carr) do an original Naschy piece for me that I could put on some T-shifts, which is the artwork on the right.

I did sell out of them, but it did take a few years. But starting sometime after that, I would start to see more and more. Granted, with some of the DVDs and Blu-ray releases of his films coming out, his fan base started to grow. Anytime I saw a Naschy shirt, I would always pick one up. Of course, due to the talented work of Gerardo Moreno and the Official Paul Naschy Shop (just click HERE), there are plenty of designs to choose from! And as you can see from the photo below, I have more than a few Naschy shirts now in my collection. In fact, I can wear a different shirt each day for over 2 weeks!!!

So whenever the shows do start back up, I hope to see more and more fans out there wearing their Naschy shirt with pride, no matter which one it is! I know I will be!

Naschy shirt collection

Mystery Photo 4-13

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I’m glad I got as many responses as I did for our last photo because it means that it is more than remembered, for better or for worse! It was from the one and only The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962), or The Head That Wouldn’t Die, depending of if you’re looking at the opening or closing credits! As cheesy as most remember it, this is quite a piece of work and has a lot more in there that most critics would admit. Congrats to the following that sent in the correct answer: Aaron Christensen, Chris Dyer, Dave Fronto, Bob Hartman, Doug Lamoreux, Erik Martin, Gavin Schmitt, Bryan Senn, and Michael Shields. Great job, people!

Now lets get to this week’s photo. A little bit of a cheat here since this is not technically from the movie itself, but the opening credits, if that will give you a hint. Just send your guess to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Rest in Peace: Hilary Dwyer & Honor Blackman

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The horror genre lost two actresses that only made a few appearances in the genre but still made an impact.

Honor Blackman, probably best known for her role as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), as well as in the Avengers TV series, she did appear in a few horror films, such as the underrated Fright (1971), starring a young Susan George, Hammer’s To the Devil a Daughter (1976), and even in the more recent Cockneys vs Zombies (2012), which I was amazed how entertaining that one actually was! Blackman passed away on April 5th at the age of 94.

Hilary (Heath) Dwyer appeared in even fewer horror films, all appearing alongside Vincent Price! Her first role was in Witchfinder General (1968), where she runs up against Price as the evil Matthew Hopkins. She then appeared with Price again in The Oblong Box (1969) and Cry of the Banshee (1970). She left acting to start a talent agency and then into producing. She passed away last week due to complications with Covid-19.

Two familiar faces that will always be kept alive and remembered because of their work in these films. Our thoughts go out to their friends and family during this difficult times.

Book Review: American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography

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American International Pictures FilmographyAmerican International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography
Published by McFarland, 2019. 451 pages.
By Rob Craig

I was a little apprehensive on tackling this book for review, mainly because I had already reviewed two previous volumes of Craig’s work and found them written a little above the subject. By that I mean he seemed to find a lot of subtext in some low budget features that I personally don’t think were ever there. But that is just a difference of opinion, and I hoped with his latest book on AIP films, it would be a little different. And it was. For the most part.

If you are a fan of American International Pictures, then simply put, this book is a must. It covers over 800 feature films, television series, and TV specials that were from AIP or under one of their many partners. It is an A to Z filmography, covering titles that are very familiar to ones that you might never of heard of. One of the things I really liked about this volume is that each film has a brief synopsis, usually taken from a pressbook, and that’s it when it comes to the plot. This leaves the story left open for the viewer to really discover instead of the author laying it out play-by-play style when that can lead the reader not even to bother with it! The beauty lies in everything the author writes about after the synopsis, with plenty of little informational tidbits and trivia. Continue reading →

Soundtrack Review: VFW

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VFW SoundtrackFW
Released by Lakeshore Records, 2020
27 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 73 min.
Music By Steve Moore

Much like Jeff Grace’s score for Cold in July, if you’re a fan of John Carpenter’s music, then this score is a must. Since the film VFW is a homage to Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), it only makes sense to have a score that feels like a Carpenter score. And composer Steve Moore has done just that. Using simple tones and those repetitive notes similar to Carpenter, he has created an effective score that has all the feeling of something from the late ’70s to early ’80s that a lot of grew up with.

We have tracks like Montage which kind of just plays in the background, setting the tone nicely. Nothing loud or over the top, but sets the mood. Then with the next tracks like Do What You Gotta Do and Run Lizard Run, the tension starts to build. In between these more up tempo sequences, it goes back down to the slow and moody set pieces.

Moore has created a very simple and yet very effective score that works really well within the film, but is also a great one to have playing in the background. It really helped making this film the homage that it is even more so.

Mystery Photo 4-6

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Welcome to April. It seems that there could be a lot of April Fool’s jokes going on, but unfortunately, what is going on is no joke. I hope everyone out there is taking precautions to make them and their loved ones safe. We’ll get through this. It will take some time, but we’ll make it. Maybe it will just appreciate what we do have a little more when all is said and done. Okay… let’s get back to keeping our minds on something positive! Our photo from last week was from the 2017 film Pyewacket and yes, that is Laurie Holden, definitely seeing better days. The only correct answer we got was from Kristin Wicks, so kudos goes out to her!

For this week’s photo, we’re going back to black and white. So take a look and see if you recognize what is going on in this shot and what movie it is from. Just sent us an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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