Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Movie Review: Mute Witness

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Director Anthony Waller
Starring Marina Zudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Oleg Yankovskiy, Igor Volkov, Alec Guinness

Not sure why, but I never got around to watching this when it first came out, close to 30 years ago. But now, with the new 4K release coming out, I have fixed that and I’m glad I did.

Mute Witness was director Waller’s first film, which I know would have made me pay attention to his career. Unfortunately, his next feature was American Werewolf in Paris (1997), which probably would have made me stop paying attention! But none the less, we are here to talk about his debut feature, which is about a young woman, named Billy Hughes, who is a special makeup effects artist working on a slasher film in Russia. She also happens to be mute. She can hear, just can’t speak. Her sister is on the crew, as well as dating the director, who helps her with any language barriers or difficulties with the crew or actors.

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Mystery Photo 6-3

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Welcome to June and our first photo of the month! We went a little old school for last week’s photo, but still sort of an obscure one. The film was The Valley of the Zombies (1946), which is actually a pretty fun flick, especially because of character in the photo, played by Ian Keith. Well worth checking it out. But kudos are in line for the following for sending in the correct answer: Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Doug Lamoreux, Bryan Senn, Mike Shields, Alan Tromp. Well done!

This week’s photo we’re going back to color! take a look below and see if you recognize where this shot is from. Just remember to send us an email with your name and answer! Most of all, Good Luck!

Turkey Day in May 2024

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Starting on our 3rd decade of Turkey Day Marathons, with this one being our 10th Turkey Day in May event, there just seems to be no stopping us. There are several things about these events that continue to amaze me. First and foremost, is the number of my friends that are crazy enough to continue to come out and sit through whatever I throw at them. Keep in mind, the titles are never announced until I hit play on the player. But they still come out. Sure, every once in a while, there might be a film where a mutiny is maybe thought about, but it is soon forgotten, and we move on to the next film. It reminds me that cinephiles are a different breed of people, ones that can look at what most people would scoff at, look down at, or even wonder why we’re wasting our title with that particular title. But the people that continue to come out see the real value and entertainment in these pictures. I am honored and so grateful to call them my friends.

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Music Box of Horrors 2024!

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This year’s Music Box of Horrors is taking place on Saturday, October 19th, giving fans another 24 hours of non-stop movies and madness! They have just announced first four titles that will be screening at this year’s marathon, and once again, they are starting out with some great titles.

The biggest title probably is Jaws (1975), which I know everyone has seen and probably multiple times. But how many times have you seen it on the big screen? With a packed audience?

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DtH Episode 71 – Infectious Body Horror

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Splinter (2008), Thanatomorphose (2012), and Contracted (2013)

When discussing films that deal with body horror, David Cronenberg and his work usually come up in the conversation. How can he not, when so many of his earlier films all dealt with some sort of body horror, mutations, and transformations? But there are plenty of films that go above and beyond (and even below) Cronenberg’s impressive genre efforts… sometimes even making us wonder why we’re watching them in the first place! Could it be that we just want to see how much grossness we can stomach? Or is there more to it?

Body horror is one of the most horrific of horror’s subgenres, tossing heaping handfuls of disgust into the usual bag of scares. And maybe it’s the hangover from the recent global pandemic, maybe it’s the fact that by a certain age all of us have watched someone close to us fight a serious illness, or maybe it’s just built into us by Mother Nature, but there’s something especially horrific about body horror from infection.  But what do we get from watching it? Disgust, discomfort, and maybe a deeper understanding of human experience and anxieties? We can for sure guarantee the first two- so let’s dig in!

Disclaimer: by the end of the episode, you will be forgiven if you catch yourself looking at your body in a full-length mirror thinking “well, at least no maggots fell out of there.”

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Mystery Photo 5-27

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Welcome to the last Mystery Photo of May. How time flies, huh? I decided to go out with an easier pic this time out. Well, maybe. Before we get to that, let’s talk about our photo from last week. It was from the film Caveat (2020), which I absolutely loved when I first saw it. Sure, it will make you question some of the actions taken by a character or two, but damn if it isn’t creepy as hell! Check it out if you haven’t seen it. Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Christopher Dyer, & Jeff Owens send in the correct answer, so big kudos to them!

Now to this week’s photo. I figured while you’re staring at it, I’d find a photo of someone staring back at you! Give it a good look and see what you can come up with. Remember to send your guess in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

New Books from the U.K.

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As a book collector, it is so tough to get books from across the pond because of the postage. But I still do it for a few of reasons. The titles I’m buying are more than worth it for the content. It also helps support the smaller publishers in continuing to put out such fantastic books. Oh yeah, and I’m a sucker when it comes to these kinds of titles!

The first one is the latest from the We Belong Dead people, Unsung Horrors Has Risen from the Grave. I have started contributing to some of their books, not in this latest volume though, but it’s not stopping me from adding it to the library. I mean, I already have the previous two titles in their Unsung Horrors series, so I obviously need this one as well! As usual, the authors have selected titles they feel need a little more love, which I’m always in agreement of. With so many movies coming out every year, there are plenty that seem to be left in the shadows that are more than worth your time. This volume covers titles like Curse of the Vampires, Evil of Dracula, The Redeemer, Lake Mungo, Curse of the Black Widow, Rogue, The Phantom Carriage, Splinter, and so much more.

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Mystery Photo 5-20

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We survived another weekend! And now we’re one more week closer to Halloween season! Our photo from last week was from the film Enter the Devil (1972), a low budget title made in southwest Texas about a Satanic Cult that was thought dead years ago but seems to be back holding human sacrifices! The only email I got with the correct answer was from Michael Shields, but for some reason I think I’m missing someone else. So, if I did miss you, I do apologize. (Edit…it was Hoby Abernathy!) Either way, well done, Michael!

This week’s photo is a little newer than the ’70s, but that’s all I’m going to say. Take a peek below and see what you can come up with. Just remember to send me an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com, with your answer. And most of all, Good Luck!

The Dead Walk at the Midway Drive-in

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I know that that title is how I felt leaving the Midway Drive-in in the wee hours this morning. I’m going on about 3-4 hours of sleep as I write this, so I apologize for any typos or ramblings that don’t make much sense, but I wanted to get this posted. Yesterday, we were at the Midway Drive-in in Sterling, IL for their Dust to Dawn Romero Fest, where they screened George Romero’s zombie trilogy, Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), as well as The Crazies (1973) to round out the night. Honestly, I think The Crazies fits perfectly into that series since while they might not be zombies, the themes are pretty close and still very effective.

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Severin Drops Danza Macabra Vol. 3

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Fans of Spanish horror are going to love this latest box set from Severin Films. They still just blow me away with the titles they are releasing. This set has 2 films that I’ve never even heard of, and that is coming from a huge fan of Spanish horror! Not to mention the fact that they’ve never been released over here in the states. In fact, 3 out of the 4 titles have never legitimately been released over here! Plus, as usual with Severin’s releases, these are just packed full of extras, from commentaries to interviews, and much more.

PLUS, 3 of the titles are scanned in 4K from original negatives, while the last one is scanned in 2K from the negative. Keep in mind, the last time I saw Cross of the Devil was from about a 10 generation VHS tape. This was a rare title that was written by Paul Naschy and directed by John Gilling. So going from that to a 4K print!?!?! What a time to be alive!

Here’s a breakdown of the films and what extras each of them has:

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