Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Mystery Photo 3-18

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I have to say, I’m kind of shocked that more people didn’t get our photo from last week. The only and only Kevin Hart sent in the correct answer, which was from the 2020 film Relic, a real feel-good-movie of the decade! In fact, stay tuned on Wednesday for more about that! But congrats to Kevin for getting it correct!

Going a little older for this week’s photo, back in the days before color. Well, not that far back, but it is in black and white. Take a look and see what you think. If you do think you know it, send me an email, at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Movie Review: The Abandoned (2006)

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Directed by Nacho Cerdá
Written by Karim Hussain, Nacho Cerdá, and Richard Stanley
Starring Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden, Valentin Ganev, Paraskeva Djukelova, Carlos Reig-Plaza

I was lucky enough to see this in the theater when it was released in 2007 nationwide, as part of the After Dark Horrorfest’s 8 Films to Die For. This was the first year of this happening and it had some great titles in there, such as Mike Mendez’s The Gravedances and J.S. Cardone’s Wicked Little Things (you can read our review of that HERE). I knew of Cerdá work because of his 1994 short film Aftermath that made quite a lot of noise in the horror underground, with it being a very nasty and graphic tale of a coroner who just happens to be a necrophiliac. Very disturbing, but incredibly shot and very effective. So, when his first feature film was coming out, I wanted to take advantage of seeing it in the theater. And I’m glad I did.

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Romero Dead-Fest at the Midway Drive-In

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On May 18th, at the Midway Drive-In, located in Sterling, IL, they are having a special tribute to George Romero’s by screening the first three films in his Dead trilogy, Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985). And as a bonus, after Day, they will be screening The Crazies (1978), which I have to say is a nice addition to these other nihilistic films.

If you’re not close to the Midway, skip down to the bottom!

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Mystery Photo 3-12

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Yes, I’m a day late. I apologize for that but yesterday was a pretty full day with some extra Podcast work being done. Stay tuned for that! Our little group photo from last week was from the 1977 film The Sentinel that really featured an all-star cast! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Gregory Avery, Robert Baker, Dada Debaser, Dave Friedman, Kevin Hart, Troy Howarth, Lee Nattrass, and William Wilson.

Now on to this week’s photo. Take a peek and see if you recognize where this is from. Just remember, send me your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

More Hammer Books from Peveril

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I know there are a lot of books on Hammer Films out there. Trust me, I know. With 2 shelves of just book on the famous studio, I probably have most of them! So why do we need more? Well, for a collector, not sure I can give a real answer other than . . . just because. But the thing about the Hammer titles from Peveril, and this isn’t a knock on any of the other wonderful books out there, but Peveril’s titles are like the archival material you’d go to a library to find. You know, those huge, old books you have to wear gloves to page through and aren’t allowed to check out, but go to special room to view them? The kind that scholars that are investigating some sort of mystery, go to these places to look for some undiscovered clue. Okay . . . maybe that’s taking a bit far.

In all seriousness, these books are archival in that they are filled with so much information, both in text and photos, that these will be the ones that future scholars will want to go back to, time and time again. I know I do each and every time I work on a piece about Hammer, or those involved. With their latest series, The House that Hammer Built, going through the decades and detailing what the studio was doing, is just amazing and filled with so much information. Vol. 2, going through from 1950 to 1954 is off to the printers so should be available soon.

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Chain Saw Confidential 2nd Printing

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Back in February of 2015, I posted my review of Gunnar Hansen’s book Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World’s Most Notorious Horror Movie, which you can read my review HERE. As much as I already knew about the film and the making of it, from the countless commentaries and documentaries I’d see up until that point, I really didn’t think I was going to learn anything new. Boy was I wrong.

No matter how much you know, or think you know, hearing the stories from the people that were there, giving firsthand accounts will definitely make you think, feel, and see the movie differently. To say this book is a must read is about as understating as I could get.

The first edition hardcover quickly sold out and now goes for big bucks on the secondary market. Now you can get the newly published 2nd edition from Dark Ink Publishers, only $23.99 for the hardcover edition and $17.99 for the softcover edition. Order your copy NOW by clicking HERE.

World Tour 2024!

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In two weeks, we’ll be heading to Cincinnati for the HorrorHound Weekend, our first convention of 2024! From the look of the guest list they have posted, this should be one of epic proportions! Plus, the fact that we haven’t had a show since last fall, we’re chomping at the bit to get back at it. We have quite a few book titles in our inventory since last year, so you’ll have plenty to choose from to keep working on Discovering the Horror!

And speaking of which, we have a new supply of Discover the Horror T-Shirts that we’ll have available at the show as well. And Damien will be set up at the show, at the Living Dead Dolls booth. As a matter of fact, Damien will be at the Monster Mania show this very weekend!

Then in two weeks, all the unholy three of us, Damien, Aaron, and myself, will be attending Cinema Wasteland in Strongsville, OH! While we won’t have a table there, we will have T-shirts on us for purchase. If you want to get one, you can always email me ahead of time and we’ll make sure we have it set aside for you. I’ll also have copies of my book as well! 

Feel free to stop by one of our tables at Monster Mania or HorrorHound if you want to talk about horror movies! Or we’ll all be wandering around the halls of Wasteland the whole weekend, and we definitely love shooting the shit about movies there!

Soundtrack Review: The Power

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The Power (2021)
Released by Invada Records, 2021
21 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 43 min.
Music Composed, Arranged and Performed by Gazelle Twin & Max de Wardener

The film is about a nurse having to work the night shift during the planned blackouts in the U.K. She’s young, new, and realizes quickly there is something strange going on at the hospital. And this music fits perfectly. There isn’t a typical orchestrated score, but with some melodies, but mainly strange sounds that are sometimes incorporated into a theme. But mainly it is filled with sounds. Sometimes a rumbling, sometimes some whispers, or voices that are distorted and louder. But all used to build an atmosphere for the ears.

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DtH – Episode 65: Universal Monster Rallies

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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), and House of Dracula (1945).

Some say that the monster rally films marked the end of the Universal creature features, which could partially be true, but we feel it is for different reasons than the actual films themselves, and they still have a lot of merit to them. While the studio heads might not have cared too much about getting them made, those involved did their best with what they had. One of the biggest highlights of these titles is the cast of actors in them, some making their last appearances. You get to see Karloff, Chaney Jr., Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, and so many other regular faces that will bring a smile to your face when they pop up onscreen.

While maybe running a little thin on ideas and decided to start combining monsters to hopefully bring back bigger box office returns, they still made films that we all still feel are entertaining and we feel are more than worth your time.

Movies mentioned in this episode:

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Super Monster Movie Fest Lineup!

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The Skyline Drive-in, in Shelbyville, IN, has announced their lineup for this year’s Super Monster Movie Fest and it’s one hell of a collection of Metal Monsters coming to invade! There is free camping and the one and only Sammy Terry live on stage each night! We’ve been making this an annual trip for us, staying the whole weekend and just having a great time. Whether you’re camping out at the drive-in, or crashing at one of the local hotels, there is plenty to do to keep you busy. There is plenty of tasty treats at the snack bar to keep that belly full and they usually have a bunch of vendors set up there as well, so bring some extra spending money.

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