Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Book Review: The Karloff Compendium

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The Karloff Compendium
Published by Unstoppable Cards Limited, 2023. 328 pages.
By Stephen Jacobs

Boris Karloff is my all-time favorite actor, not just because Frankenstein (1931) is one of my all-time favorite films either, but due to his huge work in the genre throughout his career. Because of that fact, I will buy any book that comes out that is on him. Without question. When the news of this new one was going to be released, I immediately ordered it when it was available. It also helped because it was by author Stephen Jacobs, who had previously written probably the best Karloff biography back in 2011 entitled Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster (click HERE to read our review of that title). Honestly, I didn’t even read what the book was about before ordering it, because it didn’t matter. When it arrived, I finally paged through it briefly seeing that it was really a historical look at Karloff’s career, starting at the very beginning when he was a stage actor, going through to the end.

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Facets Demons Double Feature

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For those in the Chicago area, next month you’ll have the opportunity to experience the Super-Horror-Rama at Facets with a Demons Double Feature! They will be screening both films, Demons (1985) at 7pm, and then Demons 2 (1986) at 9pm. This special presentation is sponsored by House of Monsters and programmed by John McDevitt, Facets Community Engagement Manager.

For fans of Italian horror, director Lamberto Bava’s two features has enough blood & gore, music, and plenty of demons running amok to keep everyone in the theater entertained! If you haven’t had the chance to experience them in a theater, now is your chance!

For all the information, just click HERE. And make sure you check back with Facets for other interesting screenings!

DtH Podcast – Episode 60: 2023 Wrap Up

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Another year ending means another Wrap Up episode where we go over our top picks for the year, as well as discussing some other titles we’ve seen in 2023. While most of the films we do cover here as our favorite viewings for this year are from the last few years, they are not all from 2023. But as we’ve pointed out many times before, if you’re watching it for the first time, no matter when it was released, as far as we’re concerned, it still counts as a new movie to you!

2023 has been a great year for the horror genre, especially when you look outside the U.S., which we all hope everyone out there does, because there are some incredible titles coming from Spain, Malaysia, Argentina, Japan, and more. So hopefully our listeners are not restrained by films that are “only in English”, because those folks are sadly missing out on some incredible cinema.

For this episode, we strongly suggest you have a notepad and pen close by to jot down some titles because we think we’re going to give you more than a few that we feel you should be checking out.

And a special HUGE thanks to those that continue to tune in and listen to us ramble on about the genre we love. With this being our 60th episode, it seems our following is growing day by day, so thank you for your continued support and in 2024, we’ll continue to help you Discover the Horror!

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Euro Horror from We Belong Dead

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The fine folks from We Belong Dead magazine have their latest massive book coming out, this time covering Euro Horror! In the ad on the page for the book, it has NASCHY! FRANCO! ARGENTO! BAVA! ROLLIN! Now if that isn’t a good way to make me order the damn thing, I don’t know what would! I have several of these massive books that We Belong Dead have been putting out over the last few years and they are all a work of art. Brimming with exceptional essays on the movies we all love, it is just so much fun to wander through them and read someone else’s thoughts on a variety of films. This one looks to be no different.

Edited by Eric McNaughton & Darrell Buxton, with foreword by Lone Fleming, with “350 pages in glorious full color, large format”, and illustrated with hundreds of stills, lobby cards, and poster art. For the softcover edition, the price is £35 ($44.45), and for the hardcover edition, the price is £45 ($57.15), which is limited. And of course, the postage to ship from the UK isn’t cheap either, with £15 ($19.05) and £20 ($25.40) for the hardcover. So, you’re looking at about $70 for a hardcover edition with shipping. Yes, a bit pricy. But, as I mentioned above, going by their previous books, I do think it is a great investment. And since a lot of them go out-of-print, the value will go up.

And if you need a little more pushing, my Discover the Horror co-host, Aaron AuBuchon has 4 different essays within the covers, from The Devil’s Nightmare, to Fulci’s The Beyond, to Argento’s Inferno. In fact, if memory serves, I even have an essay in there!

If you are interested, they are taking pre-orders now. Just click HERE to get to the page to place your order. I think you’ll thank me.

Mystery Photo 12-25

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Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a new photo! Probably why it is just getting posted now. But here it is none the less. Before we get to it, let’s back up to our last photo. It was from Amok Train (1989), better known in the here as Beyond the Door III. Why that title? I have no idea and it makes no sense. Then again, wouldn’t be the first time for something like that! Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Nathan Rumler, Mickey Thompson, and William Wilson. Well done!

Now on to our last photo of 2023. Just where did the year go, huh? Take a look below and see what you can come up with. If you recognize it, make sure you send me your guess in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And Good Luck!

Happy Holidays from Us at the Krypt

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Just wanted to take a second to wish everyone the happiest of holidays. I hope you are enjoying the moment, and feeding those passions that make you happy, no matter what it might be. It is what keeps us young at heart and in mind. I hope that Satan Claws leaves you something nice under the Axemas tree and that you get to spend time with those that are special to you.

And remember, at least we don’t have Big G stomping through our neighborhood . . . so at least we got that going for us . . . which is nice.

Movie Plans for 2024?

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While I know we might be a little preoccupied with the upcoming holiday in a couple of days, or any end of year celebrations, but since it is also close to the start of a new year, has anybody thought of taking on a little movie challenge? One of the things that I hear some fans doing, which I have done myself, is to make a little checklist of a particular film series, or maybe a bunch from one director, or even a particular sub-genre, and make your way through them during the next year. There’s no time limit (unless you want to set it for yourself) other than trying to get them through within those 12 months.

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Soundtrack Review: Dead of Winter

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Dead of Winter (1987)
Released by Kritzerland, 2010
21 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 65 min.
Music Composed by Richard Einhorn

I first came across this little thriller back when it first came out on video, back in the late ‘80s. Being a fan of both Mary Steenburgen and Roddy McDowall, I was all in. What I wasn’t expecting was this well-crafted thriller, that I still think is highly underrated. Now being a huge fan of soundtracks, when I see one available from a film that I liked, I tend to get it. Plus, this soundtrack was done by Richard Einhorn, who also did a few of my favorite films, such as Shock Waves (1977) and The Prowler (1981), so I thought what the hell.

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Mystery Photo 12-18

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Sorry for missing out on a new photo last week, but as we mentioned in an early post, web stuff happens. But we’re back on a Monday morning with another interesting mystery pic for you. But first, let’s talk about our last photo. Major kudos to the following people: Hoby Abernathy, Enai Aya, John Cairns, Dave Friedman, Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Ken Johnson, Gary McGuire, Lee Natrass, and Vincent Simonelli. Not only did they correctly identify the shot as being from The Manster (1959), but even more credit because it wasn’t a shot of the title character which would have made it easy! Congrats for going that extra mile with your horror knowledge!

Now on to this week’s pick. Might be easy, might not. But either way, might want to avoid this woman if she’s running the checkout line while doing your holiday shopping! Just remember, if you think you know it, send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Soundtrack Review: Voces aka Don’t Listen

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Voces (2020) aka Don’t Listen
26 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 70 min.
Music by Jesús Díaz

Voces, under the title Don’t Listen, was a film I stumbled upon on Netflix one night, not knowing that it was a Spanish made film, but was immediately captivated by the story, and the frightening way it was played out. One of the things that helped that was the soundtrack. This is not a score of melodies and themes, but of sounds. Sounds like you’d expect to hear in a nightmare. These could be anything from soft noises from afar that slowly build up a little louder and louder until you think you can make out what exactly the sound is, before it disappears into the distance.

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