Author Archives: Jon Kitley

David Cronenberg’s Birthday

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bodyhorrorToday, Mr. Cronenberg turns 72 years old. Not only has he created so many amazing films in his career, he also created one that I would have in my Top Ten Films. That would be his remake of The Fly.

Not only should Jeff Goldblum been nominated for Best Actor for his role, he should have won. But we know that is stuff of fairy tales. None the less, Goldblum’s performance in this tragic tale of discover, love, and lost, is really a piece of incredible art. Of course, major kudos to Chris Walas for creating the mind-blowing makeup effects as well. But it Goldblum that had to act through all of that makeup, and he did an amazing job there.

But Cronenberg made so many other great titles that are favorites of mine, such as Videodrome. What is your favorite of his work?

Duel Soundtrack Review

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duelDuel
Released by Intrada
19 Tracks with a total running time of 47:39 min.
Composed and Conducted by Billy Goldenberg

A few years before he made Jaws, Steven Spielberg gave us another beastly predator, one that is much more common than the Great White shark….a semi-truck. In his tele-film Duel, Spielberg created a work of suspense and terror that everyone has felt for a moment every now and then while driving on the highway, thinking that one of these mechanical beast just might be out to destroy you. One of the reasons this film works as well is it does it due to the incredibly tension-building score from Billy Goldenberg.

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Mystery Photo 3-8

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I realized that the answer I posted in our last update was from the photo from 2 photos ago. The last one was from Shock Waves, and I said it was from Cold Prey. Needless to say, I’m as confused as you are.

But I at least know that our LAST photo was from the fun sci-fi/horror flick Missile to the Moon (1958). This is a great time if yo haven’t seen it, filled with not only these rock creatures but a bad-ass giant spider as well. I had seen scenes of this years ago thanks to It Came From Hollywood, but took years to realize which movie those scenes were from. And kudos to Hoby Abernathy and Doug Lamoreux for sending in the correct answer. Hopefully I didn’t forget anybody again this time. I blame too any hours at work.

Anyway, let’s get to this week’s photo. It might be an easy one but it has always been one of my favorite films as well as one of my favorite sequences. Remember this from the TV trailer years ago and it has always stuck with me.

And remember, please don’t post your answer in the comment section, but send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck.

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Turkey Day 2005

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For this marathon, I was not going to have to make this journey alone. I found a sucker…I mean, a fellow movie fan that had the guts to put his love of bad movies to the test. Dr. AC (aka Aaron Christensen) joined me that faithful day to for another festival of B-movies and other such wonders. Though, he must have been pretty trusting of me since we’d only met a few months earlier. Little did he know of the horrors that I was going to put him through….(cue devilish laugh here) heheheh.

bloodfreak1Blood Freak (1972) – Yes, we did watch this film last year. And since this was AC’s first Turkey Day experience, I didn’t want to give him a full frontal assault right away. But I felt that since he had never witnessed Blood Freak before, that we’d have to make that the first film. Sort of breaking him in. Or breaking him down. Not sure which. And even I had watched it last year, watching this movie with a new viewer is almost as fun as watching the film itself for the first time. The look on their faces is always a riot. When the turkey monster first makes its appearance, and they look over at you with this “Are you fucking kidding me?” look….priceless.

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Beyond Terror: Revised Edition Coming Soon!

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beyondterrorIf you were a die-hard fan of Lucio Fulci’s work as well as a collector of books on his work, then Stephen Thrower’s 1999 tome Beyond Terror: The Films of Lucio Fulci was a must have.  But the problem was that finding a copy of it, even the softcover version, wasn’t that easy, at least not without paying $100+ for a copy. But now that all changed because FAB Press is releasing a revised edition later on this year.

According to FAB’s website, Thrower has written “10,000 words of all new writing, plus major revisions to the look of the book made possible through the availability of a mass of new color illustrations.” This hardcover edition is 348 pages, over 800 illustrations with 200 in color. The price is $69.95. I’m sure the shipping from the UK might be a bit pricy so you might be looking close to $100 anyway. But again, it’s not going to get any cheaper.

They don’t have a set release date just yet other than “Autumn 2015”, but I’d start saving your pennies now!

Click HERE to get all the information.

Devilish Driving Tunes

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Just read that these two soundtracks are getting a release on CD. All I can say is…Wow. Never thought I would ever see the day that someone would put out the score for the 1977 film The Car. I can still remember seeing the TV trailer for this movie, because I couldn’t get anybody to take me to see the actual movie, so the trailer was all I had. But once I finally did get to see it, I just loved it. But now, thanks to Intrada, we’ll get to hear it. I am very excited to see what this score by Leonard Rosenman is going to entail. I can only hope that one track features that mind-jarring horn from the Car.

Also, Intrada is putting out Billy Goldenberg’s score for Duel, one of the best made-for-TV movies ever.

For more information, head over to Intrada’s website HERE.

thecar duel 

Rondo Award Time Again!

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Looks like my column in HorrorHound has been nominated again for a Rondo Award for Best Column! Very humbled to be nominated 3 years in a row now. You can click on the banner below to get to Rondo site to see all of the nominees, including quite a few from my HorrorHound family. So please take a minute to go through the categories and cast your vote. These people are dedicated fans out there that strive to bring attention to the genre, and for that they all should be awarded. Of course, these are but a handful of fans, with countless others out there that are not named here, that are also working hard in their own crypt or dungeon.

So don’t forget and vote now! There are instructions at the top of the Rondo page on what you need to do to vote.

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Turkey Day 2004

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For our 2nd Turkey Day Marathon, I was still on my own. But I ventured on, determined that this punishment could only make me stronger. I had our films lined up for the day and were ready to take on whatever horrors await. So I strapped myself in and started the marathon!

BloodFreakBlood Freak (1972) – I wanted to start the marathon off with the ultimate of Turkey Day movies, and this was definitely it. This film was actually commissioned by a religious group to show the dangers of drug use and wanton sex. Steve Hawkes stars in the film that he also co-wrote and co-directed with Brad F. Grinter. Hawkes plays Herschell, an out-of-work vet looking for a job and a place to crash. He stops by the road to help a girl with car trouble. For his help, he is invited back to her home. Her sister just happens to be having a swinging drug party, but that doesn’t put her off as she sits and reads gospel from the Bible. Herschell doesn’t want to partake since he’s trying to impress this girl. But it gets even stranger. Herschell gets a job at a turkey farm and volunteers for a little experiment. He has to eat a turkey that has some laced with a experimental drug to see if it has any side effects. Well, after eating the entire turkey, he turns into a turkey-headed monster that craves blood. The guy basically has a turkey head mask on, with big bulging eyes.It has to be seen to be believed. And even then, it’s hard to believe that someone gave the thumbs up once the mask was put on.

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Turkey Day Marathon

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turkeydaybanner

So just what is a Turkey Day Marathon? Back in the early ‘90s, when Mystery Science Theater was still on and Joel Robinson was still on board the Satellite of Love, Comedy Central would have something on the day after Thanksgiving calling it the Turkey Day Marathon, which would consist of 24 hours of MST3K. Not sure how many years they did it, but I knew I was in front of the TV for it as much as I could.

About a decade later, in 2003, I decided that I was going to something very similar to that. To celebrate all those cinematic shipwrecks, I was going to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving in front of my TV, assaulting my eyes with some of the best in bad cinema. How tough could it be? As much as I tried to get volunteers to join me on this insane escapade, no one was daring enough to do it. So I would have to go it alone. At least for the time being.

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