Book Review: 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See

150 Movies You Should Die Before You See150 Movies You Should Die Before You See
Published by Adams Media, 2010. 290 pages.
By Steve Miller

This one had me really confused, especially the title. I first picked it up because I thought it might give me a few ideas for some future Turkey Day viewing. But as I read through it, I became really confused at just what Miller was trying to do here.

Each film has a very short synopsis along with cast and crew listing. Then a paragraph under the Why It Sucks moniker, a ratings of how many Thumbs Down, then a Crappies Award for whatever he didn’t care for.

In his introduction, Miller writes that there is “something magical about bad movies. Something that makes them worth the sometimes considerable effort to sit through.” Now while I really don’t like the term “bad movies” when you’re talking about a film you enjoy watching (same goes with “guilty pleasure”), I’ll let it slide here because that is an discussion for another time. But if you’re talking about movies that you do enjoy watching, then why are you putting them in a book with the title telling people NOT to watch them? Continue reading →

Mystery Photo 5-6

Welcome to our first Mystery Photo of May. Another new month, another new round of pictorial puzzles! Last week’s photo was from Dan Curtis’ The Norliss Tapes (1973). Any monster fan growing up in the ’70s owes a great debt to Mr. Curtis for his constant work in the genre, titles that still hold its power today as it did all those years ago. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answers: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Dave Fronto, and Lee Nattrass. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo. One of those flicks that shows you that zoos might not be the safest places to visit… especially in a horror movie! As always, please remember not to post your answers here so that others can have a chance at guessing. Send your guess to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Movie Review: Shrew’s Nest (2014)

Shrew's Nest PosterShrew’s Nest aka Musarañas (2014)
Directed by Juanfer Andrés & Esteban Roel
Starring Macarena Gómez, Nadia de Santiago, Hugo Silva, Luis Tosar, Gracia Olayo, Carolina Bang

Okay first of all, why the hell aren’t more people talking about this movie??? Maybe because it came out five years ago and it still hasn’t gotten a DVD or Blu-ray release over here in the states? I finally found it on Shudder, and then quickly ordered an import Blu-ray. Yes, that is how much I liked it. I’m pretty sure this is going to be in my Top Ten for this year’s viewing too. Okay, okay, I’ll try not to hype it up any more. Let me say that I am a huge fan of Macarena Gómez so that could possibly be swaying my feelings towards this movie, but I really think this can totally stand on its own. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving any spoilers away here, and you really don’t want to know much about this before watching it. Which now that I write that, it might be a little tough reviewing this…

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Super Monster Movie Fest 2019

 

Super Monster Movie Fest 2019 banner

Last year we missed this event, which really bummed me out, especially since they were doing Jaws and water terrors theme. But this year, we definitely am going to make it. Why you ask? Even when they haven’t announced any of the titles? Well first of all… it’s a 2 full-filled evenings at the Drive-in? What could better than that? Oh yeah, maybe with the theme being: Man Created Monster. Hmmm… do you think there might be a Frankenstein film in there somewhere? One can only hope.

I am very interested to see what kind of titles they are going to spring on us, but we’ll announced them here once they do list them. I know we will be there once again to enjoy the films, eat a corn dog or two, and have a great time. Why not come out and join us.

This event takes place on Aug. 23rd & 24th, at the Skyline Drive-in, located in Shelbyville, Indiana, it’s just about 20-30 minutes south of Indianapolis. Start making your plans now to attend. You won’t be disappointed.

Monsterpalooza – Part 5: Celebs and Goodbye!

We never bothered with going to the celebs that were signing outside in the hall, mainly because they were ones that have been convention regulars, plus the fact that I had no interests in paying for an autograph. But there were more than a few “famous” people wandering around the vendor room throughout the weekend. On Saturday, as Dawn, Scott, and me were wandering around, we were coming up to the Severin table and I see this hat from the back. I looked over at Scott and said, “That’s Richard Stanley! I can tell by the hat.” And I was right. In 1990, I was got to see Stanley’s first feature film, Hardware, in the theater. It was an incredible experience, filled with colors, images, and music, all intertwined together into this futuristic, post-apocalyptic tale of humanity, barely holding on. His second feature, Dust Devil (1992), was another visually stunning film. His latest film, Color Out of Space, is in post-production and I can’t wait to see it. Stanley is one of those directors that I had never met before, but always wanted to at least shake his hand and thank him for his work. And now, I got to do just that. Another one off my bucket list.

Richard Stanley

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Monsterpalooza – Part 4: The Vendors

blind dead bustSince this was our first West Coast show in close to two decades, I was hoping to see some vendors that we don’t normally see the usual shows that we go to. We definitely did, which is why I probably I spent so much money! But the Krypt is always needing some new little trinkets, right? Got to keep it fresh, right? Like this little Blind Dead bust? I mean, can you really have too many Blind Dead items? I didn’t think so either. Especially when it is a bust that was sculpted by Daniel Horne!

Sometimes after walking around any vendor room, you see plenty of cool stuff, but nothing really jumping out at you that is demanding that you take it home with you. Earlier in the weekend, we noticed that this guy had some old-fashioned looking hand puppets, but with characters you wouldn’t expect to be seeing, such as the little doll from Dario Argento’s Deep Red or Corbis from The Devil’s Rain! These were handmade and very cool, but with a price tag of $50, I really didn’t need one of those. Then walking by their table again on Sunday, either I missed it the first few times or they just put it out, but now they had a Mr. Sardonicus puppet out. Being a huge Castle fan, I just couldn’t pass it up and bought it. Check them out at www.skullclown.com. Just they don’t have a lot listed on their site so just email them and ask about their puppets. Or about all the other cool stuff they had out on their table. I know I’ll be looking for them again at the next show. Continue reading →

Monsterpalooza – Part 3: Makeup

57191738_637200916740606_5886658171325382656_nYears ago, when the TV show Face Off premiered, Dawn and I started watching it but didn’t get past a few episodes because of the fake drama present in these “reality” shows. We just wanted to see the talent and the creative process, not some feud that was created by editing and pushed by the show. Same goes with the Skin Wars. If they would take all that crap out of there and just spotlight the talent, I’d be watching every week. Anyway…throughout the weekend, there were always someone getting put into makeup, usually pretty elaborate too, not just the makeup, but full costumes as well. Each day, these poor models would be sitting in the chair first thing in the morning to have this work done on them, some of it taking most of the day. Then they would parade around through the vendor room for a bit, only then to sit back down and have it all removed! And they did this each of the three days. Such troopers! But it gave fans attending something to stop and watch for a while, getting to watch some incredible talent on display.

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Mystery Photo 4-29

If it was already obvious, our last photo was a little shout out and tribute to Rondo Hatton, mainly because the annual Rondo Awards was just finishing up the voting last Sunday. And now (hopefully) tonight the results of the voting will be announced. Of course, we can talk about the Rondos without giving thanks to David Colton for keeping the Rondos going with all this hard work! As for the photo, it was from House of Horrors (1946), where Hatton appeared in his second to last film. Congrats to the following that sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Cate Cameron, Aaron Christensen, Rick Hayden, Troy Howarth, Erik Martin, Gavin Schmitt, Michael Shields, Todd Warren, Kristin Wicks and Greg Wojick.

Now this week’s photo is a tribute to someone else, but not that it ties in with anything other than he help mold my childhood. So take that as a hint, if you can. As always, please don’t post your answers here so others can have a chance at guessing. Instead, just send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Monsterpalooza – Part 2: Displays

monsterpalooza show

On Friday, we finally make our way over to Monsterpalooza. We were technically dealer “helpers” so we got in right away, and thankfully so because the line to get in was freaking huge each and every single day of the 3-day event. A little advice to those coming to this show, be prepared to be on your feet a LOT! With a concrete floor, it plays holy hell on your feet, legs, and back. At least I know it did for us. Plus, there’s not a ton of places to sit down either. Normally, as vendors, we get to sit behind our table more than wander around so it’s no big deal. But not being at a table, I really felt the effects of it by Friday night and really aching by the time Sunday was over. I think I need to take a vacation to recoup from this vacation!

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Monsterpalooza – Part 1: Screaming at Dark Delicacies

Monsterpalooza banner

The last time I was in California was in 2003, for a Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, so it was about time I made a return. Our friends Don England and Chris Kuchta have been setting up at Monsterpalooza for a few years and I was always hearing great stories about the show, from celebrity sightings to just seeing some amazing makeup jobs, props, artworks, and other interesting things on display. So my wife Dawn and I decided to take a little mini-vacation and head out to our first Monsterpalooza. On the Thursday before the show, we were on a plane heading to the West Coast.

DarkDel1

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