Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Mystery Photo 1-9

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Last week’s photo is from one of my favorite movies from my childhood, even though I never had the chance to see it until way into my 20s! I know that doesn’t make sense but I can vividly remember seeing the trailer for The Car (1977), but never got to see it in the theater back then. Had to wait until years later and find a crappy looking bootleg before I could finally see it. And I still loved it! Of course, it is on DVD and Blu-ray for all to see! I have to say I’m thrilled to see so many people send in the correct answer. Kudos out the following: Hoby Abernathy, Scott Bradley, Dahlia Daniels, Scott Finnegan, Rick Hayden, Troy Howarth, Neil Kloster, Adam Knabe, Doug Lamoreux, Bryan Moose, Gavin Schmitt, Michael Shields, and Greg Wojick.

Okay, let’s get to this week’s photo. This is kind of how I feel sometimes going to work on Monday mornings….

And please, please, PLEASE, remember not to post your answers here so others can have the chance to make their guess. Good luck.

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The Art of Rick Melton

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If you’re a reader of Liquid Cheese, then you’ve definitely seen the incredible work of artist Rick Melton. His use of colors and the way he lays out the designs is top-notch. If you’re a horror fan, you’ll find something at this website that catches your eye. He has done pieces on the classic titles all the way into modern day, all giving that same beautiful style and look to them. Plus, prints of his work are highly affordable. Granted, they are coming from the UK, but they are worth the way. Here’s a couple of pieces that we think are amazing.

You can check out all his work on his website here: Stunningly Savage.

Soundtrack Review: Don’t Breathe

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dont-breathe-cd

Don’t Breathe
Released by Lakeshore Records, 2016
15 Tracks with a Total Running time of 59 min.
Music by Roque Baños

Typically, I prefer for soundtracks to have a melody, or some sort of musical theme. Not that I have a problem with atmospheric soundscape-type scores since there are plenty that I quite enjoy. But it doesn’t hold a candle opera to a nice classic piece of eerie music. That being said, this score that Baños has created for Don’t Breathe is just incredible.

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Horror History: Larry Buchanan

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larrybuchananLarry Buchanan
Born Jan. 31st, 1923 – Died Dec. 2nd, 2004

Buchanan holds a special place in my heart. Not the greatest filmmaker out there, or even close. But there is just something special about him and his films that hold my admiration. Many people thing that Roger Corman is king of the low budget filmmaking, but they have never heard of Buchanan. He was based in Texas and was making films at a fraction of the cost Corman was getting. And while his films may not have been “good” films, they usually turned a profit, so that means he really was a successful filmmaker. One of his first films, The Naked Witch (1961) was made for only $8,000 and made $80,000 the first month it was release. Not a bad investment.

He was hired by AIP to direct some remakes of four of their movies for the growing TV market. Again, with a considerable lower budget and only one name actor, he cranked them out in no time flat. Lucky for fans like me, a good number of his films are available on DVD, and one of them usually finds its way in my annual Turkey-Day marathon. As we said, they might not be good films, but they are entertaining.

Here are some of Buchanan’s titles to seek out: The Eye Creatures (1965), Zontar: The Thing from Venus (1966), Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966), Mars Needs Women (1967), Creature of Destruction (1967), plus many more. It may take a couple of viewings to really understand this guy, but if you are a fan of low budget drive-in style films, then you might find some enjoyment out of these.

2016 Year in Review – Part 5: Some Highlights

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Even though this year had plenty of downer moments, there were quite a few highlights that I think are worth mentioning. I know it is easy to remember the bad stuff that happens in our daily lives that I think we tend to forget all the good things, no matter how simple or small they might be. I think these are the moments that we need to focus on throughout lives, instead of the negative stuff. I think we’ll all find there are more of these high points than we realize. Here are a few of those moments that I’d like to revisit with you.

picture-of-dorian-gray-ivan-albrightThe Real Picture of Dorian Gray

I’m not sure why it took me so long to actually do this, but I finally made it out the Chicago Art Institute and got to see Ivan Albright’s painting that was used in the 1945 film The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was taking my wife into the city for a little break from reality, knowing that she is a fan of the museum, even though it has been decades since she’d been there. My appreciation of artwork has grown considerably over the last decade or so, which might have something to do with the fact that I have several friends that are professional artists, who always blow my mind with their talent. So I knew this was going to be an interesting tour. Plus, I knew that Albright’s piece from one of my favorite films is on display there, and I’d really like to see it in person.

Wandering through the huge maze that is the Art Institute, we eventually came around the corner and there it was. This piece was just huge, standing just over seven feet tall. This massive painting is just stunning to look at in person. The colors, the details, the darkness to the painting as well as the subject matter, was all just mind blowing. Standing before this masterpiece, it is kind of like standing in the Evans City cemetery, where the opening to the original Night of the Living Dead was filmed. You’re not just looking at movie history through your TV screen, but you’re standing right in front of it. I now know how people can just stand in front of a painting, gazing into it, getting lost in the colors and the brushstrokes. Almost like stepping into an emotion.

I know it is a bit expensive, but if you’re in Chicago and have the chance to go to the Art Institute, I would highly recommend it. I’d say if only to see this painting, but there are some other amazing pieces there as well.

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Midnight Train to Busan

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train-to-busanSome headlines just write themselves….

Just when you thought the zombie genre was dead and gone, we get this new one from South Korea that has been making a lot of buzz on this interweb thingy. Coming from writer/director Yeon Sang-Ho, Train to Busan has appeared on a lot of people’s Best Of 2016 lists, and has be getting a lot of praise from the critics.

Now if you live in the Chicagoland area, now you will have your chance to see this on the big screen, at the legendary Music Box Theatre this weekend! They will be screening this coming Friday and Saturday at their midnight shows.

The basic plot is about a train ride from Seoul to Busan when a zombie virus breaks out, causing the ride to be a little more hectic than originally planned! I know I’m planning on coming out on Saturday to see if this measures up to all the hype.

For more information, head over to the Music Box’s website HERE.

 

2016 Year in Review – Part 4: BOOKS!

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gromit-readingFor those who might not know (meaning this must be your first time at the site since I’m always going on about it), but I have a lot of reference books on the horror genre and those that have worked in it.  While I try to read as much as I can, with everything else going on, it is so easy to slip by and not get any reading done. So last year I set a goal for myself to get through at least 12 books during the year, figuring a book a month on average would be a good start. At the end of that first year, I think I was one title away from hitting that goal. But this year, I blew by that goal, actually hit a grand total of 14 different titles.

They were: Spanish Horror Film by Antonio Lazaro-Reboll, Ten Cent Plague by David Hajdu, Cult Horror Films by Welch Everman, The Unholy Three by John Hamilton, Father of The Blob by Jack H. Harris, Katzman, Nicholson, Corman: Shaping Hollywood’s Future by Mark Thomas McGee, I Cannot, Yet I Must By Anders Runestad, The Supernatural Cinema of Guillermo del Toro Edited by John W. Morehead, Sex, Sadism, Spain, and Cinema by Nicholas G. Schlegel, Giallo Cinema and Its Folktale Roots by Michael Sevastakis, It Came from the 80s by Francesco Borseti, Little Horrors by T.S. Kord, Growing up with Manos by Jackey Neyman Jones, and When Animals Attack edited by Vanessa Morgan.

Out of all of those titles, I have picked my favorite 3 from those.

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2016 Year in Review – Part 3: Worst Viewings

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Now for the other side. I usually try to stay away from negative reviews because I would like to stay positive and push that element of the genre. There is already enough negativity on the internet. But…there are those films that I think are simply an embarrassment to the genre, and more importantly, to the fans themselves. Because these producers think they can churn out such low quality drivel and that the fans will just eat it up. Or that they themselves think this is a well made product that hasn’t already been done to death. I do think that constructive criticism is good for the filmmakers to hear. Hearing negative things about a movie could just help someone see a different angle to it. Same goes with a positive review. Yes, these are just my opinions and there might be fans out there that really enjoyed some of the below movies. Great. I’m thrilled that they were able to speak to you. Unfortunately for me, they did not. And here is why.

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George Kosana – Rest in Peace

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george-kosana1-ripWell 2017, that didn’t take long.

The name of George Kosana might not ring a bell with some movie fans. Or even the name Sheriff McClelland, which is what he’s known for. But if you say the line “Yeah, they’re dead. They’re… all messed up”, then they will know who you’re talking about. Kosana plays the sheriff in Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. He did appear in a few other films afterwards, such as There’s Always Vanilla (1971), another Romero film, as well as a couple other low budget titles. Kosana recently passed away after battling several different illnesses, according to lifelong friend, John Russo.

That is the sad part of a film that is almost 50 years old, that we are losing more and more people that were part of making that film so great. We had met George a few times over the years at different conventions. He was always so nice and friendly and loved talking to his fans. While he might be an icon, he is definitely and important part and will be missed.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

2016 Year in Review – Part 2: Best Viewings

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Now as usual, my list are of films that I’ve seen for the first time this last year. Sorry, but I just don’t have the time and money to keep up with all the new ones that come out during the year. Mainly just the lack of time. But strangely enough, four out of this year’s list is actually from this year. As for the other six, two are from 2014 and the rest from 2015. I think this is a real first  of having mainly all new movies. Could it be that the studios are finally getting around to producing well made horror films? One can only hope. Of course, once you get to our Worst of, then you’ll see that isn’t completely true. So let’s get to them.

For our Best Viewed Movies of 2016, here they are, listed in alphabetical order.

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