Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Return of the Terror Tuesdays!

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Once again, the Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago has asked me and my partner-in-crime, Aaron Christensen (aka Horror 101 with Dr. AC) back for another 4 weeks of lectures, with the first one starting Tuesday, October. 3rd. This year, each week we will be tackling directors that are known for their contributions to the horror genre throughout the decades. The first Tuesday, we’ll be going over directors from the 1920s through the 1960s, such as names like Tod Browning to Terence Fisher. The second Tuesday, October 10th, we’ll be discussing directors from the 1970s and 1980s, from Al Adamson to David Cronenberg. Next up, on Tuesday, October. 17th, we’ll cover directors from the 1990s to the current date, with names like David Bruckner to Peter Jackson. And the final lecture, on Tuesday, October 24th, will be on the makeup masters. People like Roy Ashton, Jack Pierce, to Chris Walas, these are the ones that have created some of the cinematic nightmares that we’ve enjoyed over the years!

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Discover the Horror: Episode 52 – Álex de la Iglesia

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Perdita Durango (1997), Common Wealth (2000), Witching and Bitching (2013).

There are a few directors like Álex de la Iglesia. No matter what kind of film he’s making, he weaves in and out of different genres like changing lanes on a busy highway. But no matter what, you will usually see his twisted and dark sense of humor, unique and interesting stories, and usually something you’ve never seen before on film. And that could all be before the opening credits!

In this episode, we dive into three of his features, one a brutal tale of sex and violence, one a tale of greed and what people will do because of it, and finally a supernatural tale of witches that is quite different than anything coming from Disney!

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Humanoids from the Deep Soundtrack

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Long before composer James Horner scored the soundtrack for James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), back at the start of his career, he worked on a few horror films, such as the Roger Corman produced Up from the Depths (1979) though listed as uncredited, Wolfen (1981), and Deadly Blessing (1981). But one of his earlier scores was that of another Corman produced film, Humanoids from the Deep (1980).

When Humanoids hit HBO in the early 80s, it was all the guys were talking about at school, for obvious reasons. It was a film that anxiously awaited to get to see, and when I did, it paid off in spades! Now fans of the soundtrack from James Horner can hear it really for the first time.

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Changes Are a Comin’

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It’s that time again. It seems I have an 8-year cycle at my work life (in the really real world), and that cycle has come to an end. Next month, I start a new job that I’m hoping that has very little effect here at the Krypt, but we’ll have to wait and see. As you can see by the lack of updates lately, things have been kind of crazy here as of late, from the stress seeing if this new offer would be worth it, to all the other events and projects going on, let’s just say it has been a crazy month. And October might not be any better when it comes to being busy.

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Killer Tomatoes 3+ Hour Retrospective

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That’s right folks, not only is there is a retrospective documentary on one of the most infamous movie series in history, which started with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978) and went on to have 3 sequels and even a kid’s TV series, but this thing runs over three hours long!!!

It all started with an award-winning animated horror host show called Screaming Soup!, which featured a gas guzzling, ray gun slinging skeleton cowboy named Deadwest, who reviews obscure horror films from yesteryear. He always ends his reviews with “But what do I know? I like Killer Tomato movies!” After 50 episodes of the show, creator Dan Fowler decided to set out and make a documentary that was going to be filled with a bunch of Killer Tomato trivia, and hopefully answer all those unanswered questions from the fans. While some may jest at these titles, the fact that they are four features and a TV series, not to mention the merchandise involved, this isn’t something to scoff at since there has to be a fan base for it. And if you’re in that, then this is for you!

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Discover the Horror Podcast – Episode 51: Universal Mummies

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The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Hand (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), and The Mummy’s Curse (1944).

In this episode, we go back the Universal Classics and take on one of the most unusual of the classic monsters, the Mummy. It’s probably one of the best costumes and memorable character, but never seems to reach the same level of notoriety as his fellow monsters. But strangely enough, it is the one Universal monster to have more films devoted to his character alone, without going into the Monster Rally films where they had more than one monster in the picture.

Here we dig up some facts as well as our own thoughts on the original 1932 film starring the one and only Boris Karloff, as well as the 4 other Mummy films that came out almost a decade later, but with much smaller budgets. These sequels started with a different mummy character and had a continuing storyline between the 4 films, or at least tried.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Giant Gila Monster & Killer Shrews

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There are a lot of films that were made in the ‘50s & early ‘60s, specifically made for the market of that time, aimed at the teenage market, that us fans today had discovered in our youth from late night screenings on TV, or maybe hitting the video store aisles in the ‘80s. Unfortunately, we tended to put them on the same level of critiquing as we would a brand-new movie, without considering the time they were made, or especially their budget.

While some would say that a film should stand on its own merits, no matter what went into it, when it was made, how much it cost, which I do agree with to a degree. But it comes down to those elements that make the film what it is, and to know more about that, such as the budget or when it was made, might not make the film better, but it does let you see it differently.

These two films are a perfect example of that.

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Mystery Photo 9-4

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Welcome to not being Summer anymore! Sure, it’s not official fall yet, but we all know that once August is over, it is definitely Halloween season! The time us horror fans seem almost normal for a couple of months! So, let’s get started! Our photo from last week was a tricky one, I don’t believe it had gotten any sort of video or DVD release over here in the states. The title is Orlak, el infierno de Frankenstein (1960), but was also known simply as The Hell of Frankenstein. It’s one of those many horror films from Mexico made in the late ’50s and early ’60s, that are more than worth checking out. Maybe we’ll see it in the next Mexican Horrors box set??? Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Jason Lane, Erik Martin, and Alan Tromp. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo, which might be pretty easy, or not. But there is a reason for this particular film. Take a peek and see what you can come up with. Just remember to send in your guess to me in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Super Horror Rama at Facets!

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House of Movie Monsters is having a 3-day event at Facets in Chicago, on October 13th-15th, with vendors and movies screening all 3 days! If we weren’t going to be at Monster Bash in PA that weekend, we definitely would be there for all 3 days, so we are very bummed about that. But even though we can’t be there, we wanted to help get the word out because horror fans need to help promote each other!

Here’s is what is playing:

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Black Mold Trailer

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I think it was back in the mid to late 2000s when I first met John Pata, who had recently made a short film called Better Off Undead (2007). Even after I told him that I usually didn’t like low budget films, he wanted me to see his anyway, which I actually ended up really enjoying. And we’ve been friends ever since. In fact, Mr. Pata was the guy who laid out my book, Discover the Horror. But he’s also continued on as a filmmaker, co-directing the 2012 film Dead Weight, an intense short film called Pity (2014), but has now completed his first feature film as a stand-alone director for the film Black Mold. Pata also wrote and edited the film as well.

Years ago, Pata owned and operated his own printing shop and business was good, but he that wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. I remember a few conversations with him saying that he’s got a good gig now, one that many people his age (at the time) would love to have. But he wanted to get into film and didn’t take my advice. And I’m so glad he didn’t.

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