That’s right. One quarter of a century, sitting here at the Krypt, plugging away, always with the goal of helping other fans discover more of this wonderful thing we call the horror movie genre. When I started, the Krypt was little more than posts about DVD releases, an occasional movie review, and maybe even some movie news, but always trying to put my own personal spin on it, as opposed to just copying and pasting news from other sites.
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Let’s face it: horror fans are, as a group, a little bit obsessive. When we sink our teeth into something we do not do it barely or easily, we take a big, honkin’ bite. If we become infatuated with a director, we want to see every film they’ve made, read a book about them, hear people talk about them, watch documentaries about them, and so on. And the same is true for national horror cinemas, regional American horror cinemas, important eras, actors, subgenres, and the like. And in recent years, a handful of visionary producers of physical media have recognized an opportunity in our longing and have invented and are currently inundating us with boxed sets. These comprehensive, exhaustive, wonderful monsters have become a gravitational center point for our genre. But just a handful of years ago they mostly didn’t exist or were announced only every few years. Nowadays, we get several per year from companies like Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Indicator, Arrow, and Scream! Factory, just to name a few. So, we figured it was time for Discover the Horror to take a long look at the history and impact of these monolithic pieces of film history.
Movies mentioned:
Continue readingBeing halfway through October, I hope everyone out there is having some time to enjoy this Halloween season! I know I am, even though it seems to be a very busy month for us here at the Krypt. But enough of that, let’s get down to business. Our last pic was from the (I think) highly underrated Bill Rebane film The Alpha Incident (1978), starring Ralph Meeker. It really feels similar to an early Romero film. Give it a look if you haven’t seen it. Not action packed, but a good story. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Kevin Hart, and Troy Howarth. Well done!
This week’s photo is a little more current but see if you can still recognize it. Just remember to email me your guess to jon@kitleyskrypt.com! And, as always, GOOD LUCK!
We had the wonderful opportunity to meet Mr. Burr a few times over the years at different conventions and not once was he anything but gracious, open, and damn friendly. I first became of him and his work with his first feature film, From a Whisper to a Scream (aka The Offspring) from 1987, which is a cool little anthology film with Vincent Price in the wraparound segment telling the different stories. There is some twisted tales in this one, as well as a great cast too. Burr would go on to do Stepfather 2 (1989) and the very troubled Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990), which at one point he was fired and then rehired again! He continued to work over the years, every now and then in the horror genre, but I’ve always enjoyed his work.
So, hearing today that he had passed away at the age of 60, it was a very saddening moment. Not only did we lose a real talent there, but it is also a shame that we won’t get to see another picture from him or see him at a convention chatting it up with fellow fans. Thankfully, we do have his films that he’s left us to remember his talent with, and for that, he will always be remembered. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.
It’s amazing how much can change in just one week. Won’t go into any details but let me just say that I couldn’t be happier the way turned out right now. Now looking forward to enjoying the rest of this month! And to that note, let us get to the reason at hand, this week’s Mystery Photo. But wait . . . last week’s photo was from Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1983), which is actually better than the video box ever let on! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Gary Miller, and William Wilson. Well done!
Okay . . . so this week’s photo is here for a reason, but we’ll see if anybody picks up on the reasoning or connection. How’s that for a clue?!?! Either way, take a peek below and see if you can recognize what film this shot is from. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email (so I don’t forget or lose it) to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!
The full lineup for this year’s Music Box of Horrors has been announced on their website, and it looks like one hell of a 24 hours to spend with other like-minded horror fans! Although, the ones crazy enough to come out for a 24-hour marathon aren’t just fans, but dedicated deviants that want to revel and dwell in these amazing horror titles. And I love them for that!
To make the marathon even better, the Music Box has once again filled up their lobby and lounge with a wide variety of vendors to help you pick up some great stuff! I know we are so excited to make our return to vending at this event, but there are plenty of other great vendors like Pretty Spooky Handmades, House of Monsters, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin Films, Graveface Records, and more! Make sure you stop by and check all the vendors out! And of course, stop by and see us at the Kitley’s Krypt booth!
For all the latest information, head over to the Music Box’s page for this event HERE, and also check out their main site (HERE) to see all the other great stuff they are screening!
Below is the full lineup with the start times:
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Blood Feast (1963), Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), The Gruesome Twosome (1967), The Wizard of Gore (1970)
When Herschell Gordon Lewis made his first nudie cutie film in 1961, nobody would have expected that he’d become one of the most important names in the history of horror. But with the release of Blood Feast just two years later, Lewis and his producing partner David F. Friedman would invent the gore subgenre and would fundamentally reshape horror as we knew and understood it. And for about a decade after it, Lewis would continue to release gore-obsessed fare to grindhouses and drive-ins across the nation. When those sorts of theaters started to fade away in the 70s, so did Lewis, who went back to his previous career in advertising. But in the 80s and beyond his fame was resuscitated on home video and in the pages of magazines like Fangoria and Deep Red where he became known as The Godfather of Gore.
With some help from Christopher Wayne Curry, author of A Taste of Blood: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, we dive into four of his films and manage to talk about a whole slew of others.
Movies mentioned in this episode:
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We all know that McFarland puts out some amazing books, but they do tend to be on the pricy side. But during the month of October, they are having a 25% off sale on all their horror titles! I just pre-ordered Bryan Senn’s MASSIVE new book, Mummy Movies, which normally retails for $75, but with this sale, I got close to $20 off that price! So, if you’re looking to add a few more titles to your own library, now is your chance to pick up some great titles and save a little money as well.
The code is simple . . . just add in HALLOWEEN2023 in the promo code during check out and see the savings! Head over to McFarland’s site HERE to see all the amazing titles you can find. May I suggest the latest from Christopher Wayne Curry, The Incredibly Strange Features of Ray Dennis Steckler, where you can save $10. Or any number of titles from Tom Weaver, Gregory William Mank, Bryan Senn, or any other number of titles. Just do a McFarland search on my site to see all of their books that I’ve reviewed over the years if you’re not sure which one(s) to get!
We survived our trip to Ohio for Cinema Wasteland, still one of the best shows around. Probably spent way too much money but had plenty of fun. Always great to see and hang out with our convention family there. But onto the business at hand. The photo from last week was from The Power (2021) a great British ghost story with powerful message that unfortunately still needs to be talked about today. Make sure you seek this one. Congrats to Aaron Christensen & Dada Debaser for sending in the correct answer.
For this week’s photo, we’re going back a little farther, but I think it is still a fun one. Remember to send your guess to us in an email (so I don’t lose it) to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!
We read the news last night that we had lost another icon, not only film, but especially television, the great David McCallum. Probably best known for two roles on a TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. from 1964 to 1968, and over 3 decades later, appearing in the hit TV show NCIS (2003-2023) for 2 decades! But to us horror fans, while he may not have appeared in a ton of shows, he was there. He appeared in a couple of episodes of The Outer Limits, on episode of Night Gallery, the made-for-TV movie She Waits (1972), the title character in the TV series The Invisible Man (1975-76), and Disney’s creepy film The Watcher in the Woods (1980).
But for me, he will always be remembered as Dr. Henry Clerval in the 1973 made-for-TV movie Frankenstein: The True Story. While it is far from the “true story”, it is childhood favorite that remains a favorite to this day.
McCallum passed away on Monday at the age of 90 from natural causes. Because of his work in TV and films, and the huge fan base his work has created, his memory will continue on to entertain and delight audiences to come. Thank you, Mr. McCallum for your hard work and dedication to your craft. Gone, but not forgotten. Our thoughts go out to you and your family during this difficult time.
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