Author Archives: Jon Kitley

HorrorHound 100th Issue!

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It was way back in April of 2006, when Aaron Crowell walked up to my vendor table at Cinema Wasteland and handed me a copy of this new magazine they had just started, called simply enough HorrorHound. While I did a thing here and there for them, I officially became a columnist for them with issue #16, which was in 2009. Now, here is it 2024 and issue #100 is about to hit the newsstands. Where the hell did the time go?

I grew up with horror magazines, being the starting point for my horror education. While there were the reference books, it was magazines like Fangoria, Gorezone, Famous Monsters, and Cinefastique leading the way, along with other titles like Rue Morgue, HorrorFan, Slaughterhouse, Monsterscene, and countless others that came out over the years, was where we learned about our favorite movies and those behind them. So, to think that at some point in the future, I would be a staff writer for one of the leading magazines out there now is pretty surreal.

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Kristin Wicks – Rest in Peace

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This is one of the hardest of these that I have had to write. Usually when I do these, it is for someone from the movies that we admire but never really knew in person. But with Kristin, I had the honor of knowing her for maybe close to two decades??? We spent many hours traveling back and forth to conventions, trying to stay awake at the 24-hour film fests by drinking Monsters and talking about movies, multiple local horror events, and a variety of Halloween parties, where she always had the best costumes.

The horror community has now lost one of its strongest voices. When she was able to, she was always there to promote others that worked in the horror genre, whether it was someone putting on film screenings, conventions, their artwork, writings, or any number of subjects. Kristin was a true diehard horror fan, smart, a talented artist, and very dedicated to the genre, as well as her friends, who she was always supporting.  

Her voice had been quiet for a long time while she battled what seemed like a constant multitude of aliments over the last decade, but now, her voice is silent for good. And while she will be deeply missed by myself and my family, and the horror community, I can only hope that she is in a better place, and finally free of pain. 

And I will apologize once again to you, Kristin, for eating and burping up Funyuns in the van with you sitting behind me.

She may be gone, by definitely will never be forgotten. We all love you, Kristin, and you will forever be remembered in our dark and twisted hearts. Rest in Peace, my friend.

Kicking the Seat with Sergio Martino

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Our good friend Ian Simmons, who runs the Kicking the Seat podcast, as well as hosts the Academia Giallo show that I am a frequent guest on, along with Aaron Christensen from Horror 101 with Dr. AC, and Bryan Martinez from The Giallo Room, has recently posted the interview that he and Mr. Martinez were able to do with the Giallo Maestro himself, Sergio Martino. I’ve been meaning to post this, but time has not been so nice to me as of late. But, better late than never, right?

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Mystery Photo 2-12

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I can’t tell you how much it makes me happy when I through a not-so-classic-that-should-be-known-as-a-classic and I still get a few correct answers sent in. Warms my cold heart. Last week’s shot was from the Val Lewton classic Isle of the Dead (1945) directed by Mark Robson (another guy that needs some street cred). If you have not seen this film, please do yourself a favor and seek it out. In fact, seek out all the Lewton horror films he made for RKO in the ’40s. They are all well worth your time. But back to the subject at hand. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Chris Dyer, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Troy Howarth, Michael Pniewski, Bryan Senn, and William Wilson. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo. Might be easy, might not. Then again, I say that a lot, don’t I? Either way, just remember to send me your answers in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Save the Earth at Super Horror-Rama!

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Facets and House of Monsters are bringing in a 2-day event, with 5 features all to Save the Earth with this new fang-tastic lineup on April 12th and 13th.

On Friday the 12th, they will be screening Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971) and Frogs (1972), all to teach us why we need to save the environment!

On Saturday the 13th, we will learn what will happen to us if we DON’T save the Earth, by screening 3 of the “drippiest and trippiest triple feature”, which is The Devil’s Rain (1975), The Incredible Melting Man (1977), and Street Trash (1987)! That’s a lot of ooze for one night!

All of this takes place at Facets in Chicago, where you can see a constant stream of great screenings there. For all the information, head over to their website HERE.

DtH Episode 63 – Amicus Anthologies

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Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965), The House that Dripped Blood (1971) and Tales from the Crypt (1972)

Amicus Productions was most known for their anthology films, even though that was a small percentage of the types of films they did make in over the years. But because of the quality of the films, the power of the stories they were based on, and the incredible cast of actors they would hire, they always made an impact on fans. In this episode, not only do we cover three of our favorite Amicus’ anthology titles, but we’re joined by producer/director Lawrie Brewster, the man behind the resurrection of Amicus Productions, that is currently working on a new anthology film to be released under the Amicus name! 

Films Mentioned in this Episode:

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April Ghouls Drive-In Monster-Rama

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The fine folks at the Riverside Drive-In and DVD Drive-In have announced their lineup for this year’s spring show, and as usual, they have one hell of a lineup. Friday the 26th, you have a mixture of different types of zombie films, then on Saturday the 27th, you have a nice bunch of sci-fi/horror films that were almost made to be seen at the drive-in! For all the information, head over to the Riverside’s site HERE, or the Facebook page HERE.

Mystery Photo 2-5

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Been a little lacking in updates this last week, but that just means I’ve been keeping myself busy, both in the real world and other irons in the fire. Hopefully I’ll get back on track with some more posts during the week. In the meantime, let us get to why you’re here for this particular post! Last week’s photo is from the 2007 Spanish film [REC] from directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. Truly a terrifying film and pretty damn original for how they did it. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron AuBuchon, Enai Aye, Peggy Christie, Dada Debaser, Dahlia Daniels, Chris Dyer, Dave Friedman, Kevin Hart, Dustin Moravick, James Schmeichel, Todd Warren, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Great job!

This week’s photo is from a classic black and white film. Then again, aren’t all black and white films classics? Well, I think so at least. Take a look and see if you can recognize the movie from this single shot. Just send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Mystery Photo 1-29

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Nope! I didn’t forget. Just running a little later than I’d hoped, but here we are, for the last Mystery Photo for January. The first month of the new year already over. Wow. Okay, down to business. Our photo from last week was from Lamberto Bava’s Demons 2 (1986). To those that sent in Demons at first, don’t feel bad because you were not alone. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Chris Dyer, Kevin Hart, Gary Miller, Bryan Senn, and William Wilson. Bravo!

Now on to this week’s photo. I think it’s pretty easy, but we’ll see how well it is received. Just remember to send your guess to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com (so I don’t lose it . . . though no guarantees on that!). But most of all, Good Luck!

Book Review: Watching the World Die

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Watching the World Die: Nuclear Threat Films of the 1980s
Published by McFarland, 2023. 261 pages.
By Mike Bogue

Back in 2018, I reviewed Mike Bogue’s previous book, Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema, 1951-1967 (click HERE for that review), which I really enjoyed since it was much more than what it looked like at face value, not just about giant monsters created from atomic energy, but giving a really good insight to even the differences between countries and how they each looked and perceived what had, or could, happen.

When I received his latest book, Watching the World Die, at first thought it would just be about movies dealing with nuclear war and the aftermath, along the lines of films like The Day After (1983). And honestly, I have to say for someone that likes to use movies as an escape, reading about some truly terrifying films like Testament (1983) or Threads (1984) is a bit rough. Not to say that cinema can’t have a message, and a lot of these films do exactly what they set out to do, and do it well, but for me personally, it’s not a particular sub-genre that I enjoy watching or reading about. On that same note, writing about futuristic worlds that are struggling to survive after the destruction is easier to put it in more of terms of a fantasy, and even horror, that I can enjoy a lot easier. It’s about the after-effects, not the actual holocaust, if that makes sense.

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