Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Book Review: Claude Rains: An Actor’s Voice

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Claude Rains: An Actor’s Voice
Published by University Press of Kentucky, 2008. 290 pages.
By David J. Skal with Jessica Rains

Like most horror fans, I knew the name of Claude Rains because of his starring role in The Invisible Man (1933), as well his performances in The Wolf Man (1941), and Phantom of the Opera (1943). Eventually I would learn of his other pictures and that he had come from the world of the stage, starting out at a very young age, and even battling a speech impediment and strong cockney accent. I even wrote a retrospective on The Invisible Man for HorrorHound magazine, doing quite a bit of research, and thinking I had a good insight into the actor himself. But like most things in life, there is always room to learn more. And after reading Skal’s book, I realized how much more.

There are several biographies currently in publication on Rains that I had planned on adding to my library, but it was Skal’s book that I acquired first. While looking for the next book to read, this was still sitting off to the side, not yet put away in the bookshelf, I picked it up and started to read the introduction. The next thing I knew, I was already 50 pages deep into this wonderful story. I think that is where Skal excels here, in telling a very compelling story filling it in with bits of information here and there.

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Mystery Photo 2-13-23

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Greetings, and welcome to another installment of the Mystery Photo Mondays! Now since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, one would almost think I would use something from My Bloody Valentine, but I’m not that easy. But the I did choose is sort of a love story . . . kind of. Probably going to be pretty easy for the lot of you, so we’ll see how much you’re paying attention. But before we get to that, let’s cover last week’s photo. It was from Luigi Cozzi’s unofficial entry as the Third Mother film, The Black Cat (1989), starring the lovely Caroline Munro. Kudos to Dave Fronto and William Wilson for sending in the correct answer.

Okay, take a peek at the photo below and see what you come up with. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Robot Monster In 3-D is Almost Here!

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The official 70th Anniversary release of one of the greatest films in movie history (okay . . . stop laughing), the one and only Robot Monster will finally be hitting Blu-ray and DVD this summer. It will be distributed by Bayview Entertainment with this new smashing cover art by Stewart McKissick. All the extras are still being worked out, but they did announce that they have recorded an audio commentary with star Gregory Moffett, as well as a featurette about him. We got to meet him at a Monster Bash conference a few years ago and he had some great stories then. It is so great to see that they will now be documented in this new release.

I know I contributed to the Kickstarter to get this released in its original 3-D format, so I know these guys have been hard at work making this thing happen. Can’t wait to be able to see this in its restored form, as well as in 3-D. But until then, check out the artwork below.

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Movie Review: Attack of the Beast Creatures

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(1985)
Directed by Michael Stanley.
Starring Robert Nolfi, Robert Lengyel, Julia Rust, Lisa Pak

I first came across this title while roaming the video stores back in the day and rented it simply because of the title and the box art. I mean, how could it be bad? It says right on the box that a group of shipwreck survivors end up on a deserted island, and “a living hell breaks loose when the survivors encounter gruesome, flesh-eating Beast Creatures!” I was totally sold. And after watching it, I was amazed that no one else was talking about it. Everybody remembers the little Zuni Fetish doll from Trilogy of Terror, right? Just imagine a whole island filled with them!

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Discover the Horror Podcast – Episode 36: Talking Movies with Jesse Nelson

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Obviously, anybody listening to this podcast is a huge fan of horror movies. There is no better time to be a movie fan because of all the incredible releases that keep coming out, not just here in the states, but around the world. From movies that we grew up loving, to the more obscure and unseen titles, it is a never-ending journey to discover or re-discover these titles. And one of the men responsible for helping us fans is Jesse Nelson from Diabolik DVD, as well as Exhumed Films, and more recently Cauldron Films.

So, sit down and listen to some great stories, and maybe even learn some etiquette when it comes to collecting, customer service, and what fans should expect from shops like Diabolik DVD, and the other boutique labels, and realize the hard work they are all doing to bring us fans some great viewing experiences.

Films mentioned during this episode:

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Mystery Photo 2-6

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Welcome to the first photo of February. Another month in the books. For our last week’s photo, we decided to deep dive down into the world of really low budget films and picked a favorite shot from Bret McCormick’s Abomination from 1986. Can’t go wrong with a whole bunch of tumor monsters that are taking residence inside the kitchen cabinets! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Bob Hartman, Mike Shields, & William Wilson. Well done!

This week’s photo is another fun one. Well . . . Anyway, take a look and see what you think. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Julia vs Julia

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A short time ago, I posted about the upcoming release of The Haunting of Julia on Blu-ray from the Australian company, Imprint Films. Shortly after that I was told that Shout Factory had also announced to release this film here in the states. But there are some dramatic differences between the two releases, which really has me in a quandary. We’ve waited decades for this film to get an actual release and now that we do, we get two of them!

As previously posted, the one from Imprint film has their presentation in a new 1080p High-Definition presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K scan from the original negative. But the Shout Factory release is a 4k UHD presentation.

The only extra it seems on the Shout Factory disc, if you order from them directly, is a 18×24 rolled poster of the theatrical artwork.

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George Wilbur – Rest in Peace

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The horror genre has lost a key figure in some of the films that we’ve enjoyed over the last 60 years. Stunt work is one profession in the movie world that seldom gets the credit it so richly deserves. They are the nameless, usually faceless actors and actresses that do all the amazing work with the stars of the film getting the credit. George Wilbur worked on some amazing films in his long career, in quite a few different genres. But it is the horror titles that we’re interested in. Ones like Blacula (1972) and Grizzly (1976), to Escape from New York (1981), Re-Animator (1985), to even Oscar winning films like Silence of the Lambs (1991). But it was his appearance playing Michael Myers in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1989) that really put his name in the minds of fans. He reprised that performance in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).

He attended many conventions over the years, getting to meet tons of his fans and was always so gracious to them. He understood the importance of his work and what it meant to the fans. Wilbur passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 1st at the age of 81 years old. We must remember that it isn’t just the famous actors from the movies we love that make them so great, but everyone involved, some that we’re purposely not aware of, such as the stunt people. And Wilbur definitely was one of those special ones. Thanks to his involvement in the Halloween series, he will always be remembered. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Mystery Photo 1-30

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Welcome to our last photo of the month. That’s right, we’ve almost made it through the first month of 2023 and we’re still here. Hopefully that is a good sign. Our photo from last week was from the one and only Grizzly (1976), one of the first and most successful “inspired” films that came from the blockbuster Jaws (1975). Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answers: Hoby Abernathy, Scott Bradley, Dada Debaser, Bryan Senn, and Michael Shields. Well done!

For this week’s photo, we’re going a little more obscure. Fans of the old VHS days might know this one. But give it a look and see what you can come up with. If you’ve seen it before, you’ll most likely remember it because it is quite different. Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

The Haunting of Julia to Hit Blu-Ray

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Before the success of the 1981 adaptation of Peter Straub’s 1979 novel Ghost Story, and earlier novel simply called Julia, published in 1975, was made into a film called Full Circle, but was released over here in the states under the title The Haunting of Julia. Mia Farrow stars as a recently separated woman who is struggling to regain her life back after the death of her young daughter. She moves to London to start that new life, but the place she picks seems to have another presence there, one of a young girl. Also starring Keir Dullea, Tom Conti, Jill Bennett & Robin Gammell.

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