Author Archives: Jon Kitley

New Little Shoppe of Horrors!

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Occasionally the infamous and best magazine devoted to Hammer here in the States will go outside the famous studio to focus on another title or two. They did it previously on the Frank Langella version of Dracula (1979) or Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), and with each of those issues put in as much love and research as any of their Hammer features. So, while I love their work they do on Hammer, I also love when they venture outside there because I know they are going to do it so well!

The new issue, #48, has one of my favorite movies on the cover, The Trollenberg Terror (1958), or as it was known here in the states, The Crawling Eye! Featuring another one of kind cover by artist Mark Maddox, I think it will enjoy looking at you as much as you will looking through its pages!

This is what else if featured in this issue:

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Mystery Photo 4-25

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Welcome to our last photo for April. How times flies, huh? A quarter of the year almost behind us. Onward and upward, right? Well, we can only hope. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any correct answers for our last photo. Maybe it was too new? Could be. The name of the film is Malasaña 32, or 32 Malasana Street as it is called on Amazon Prime. It came out in 2020 and directed by Albert Pintó and if you like creepy haunted house stories, this one packs a punch.

But let’s get to this week’s photos. Maybe this one might be a little easier to recognize, especially for those that have a love of older films. Okay, that’s a big enough hint for you! Check it out below and see what you think! Just remember to send your answer to me at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Night of the Bloody Cuts

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Fans of the weird and strange exploitation films might have heard of René Cardona’s 1969 film Night of the Bloody Apes, which I have to say is one hell of a title. Honestly, if the trailer alone doesn’t get you to watch the movie, nothing else will. But it was a remake of Cardona’s own film Doctor of Doom (1963) but in color with some nudity, blood & guts, including some stock footage of some real surgery! It is a great little flick for those akin to this kind of twisted cinema.

At the last convention I was at, I picked up the new Blu-ray of this film that was released by VCI Entertainment. I had the old Something Weird DVD but figured it was “now restored in 4K from original 35mm negative” I could always use an upgrade. Plus, this new release also had a bonus feature of the previous mention Doctor of Doom. But as I watched it the other night, something was amiss. Now there were some scenes that either didn’t go through the 4k scan because the quality noticeably dropped, but during some of the gore scenes, the quality of the print changed, almost like someone had messed with the contrast or something. Now this is coming from someone who knowns NOTHING about what goes into restoring movies. But when the quality of the print dramatically changes, and not like it went back to a grainy print, but where the colors looked oversaturated or something, something obviously noticeable, something wrong.

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Movie Review: The Frozen Dead

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(1966)
Directed by Herbert J. Leder
Starring Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Philip Gilbert, Kathleen Breck, Karel Stepanek,
Basil Henson, Alan Tilvern, Ann Tirard

There are those films we first see in our youth that sent a sense of awe through our brain, as well as chills down your spine. A time way before we’re smart enough to know whether something could really happen or not, or how far science could really go, when most concepts or ideas where completely new and therefore fascinating to our young minds, sparking that imagination. That is when I first experienced The Frozen Dead. I can remember telling the kids on the playground the next day at school, about a wall of arms that were still alive, or Nazi soldiers that could only comb their hair or bounce an imaginary ball, or even more exciting, a decapitated head that was STILL ALIVE!!! Years or maybe even decades later when we see these films again, we’re a little ashamed to think that it was it was that amazing at the time. But others, like this particular film, even though it might be a little silly or even outrageous, it still impresses me.

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Book Review: Yours Cruelly, Elvira

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Yours Cruelly, Elvira
Published by Hachette Books, 2021.284 pages.
By Cassandra Peterson

You couldn’t be a horror fan from the ‘80s until now and not know who Elvira is. Sure, while she was always great to look at, as you get past those teenage boy thoughts, you start to realize just how smart and talented the woman behind the makeup and wig is. I was a fan of her since those Thriller Video days, back when trips to the video stores were a weekly thing. I was excited when her first movie came out and laughed quite a bit at the not-so-subtle jokes in there. I’ve met her a few times at different conventions over the years, both as Elvira and as Cassandra, and was always amazed at how funny she was and connected to her fans.

So yeah, a big fan.

When her biography was announced, I quickly pre-ordered it because this was the first time we were really going to hear about the woman behind Elvira. Once I finally got it, it was one of those instances where I just picked it up browse through the photos knowing I would get to it at some point. Next thing I know, I’m 90 pages in! I finished the entire book in about 3 sittings because it was a very easy read but more importantly, we got to hear Cassandra’s story. We learn how she got her start, go-go dancing while she was still underage, going from being a rock band groupie to becoming a Vegas showgirl, to becoming the famous Mistress of the Dark, not to mention the ton of famous people she met along the way.

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Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 15 – Bert I. Gordon

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King Dinosaur (1955), The Cyclops (1957), & Food of the Gods (1976). What do these three films have in common? They all came from Mr. BIG himself, the one and only Bert I. Gordon. Known for films that featured giant monsters, such as giant grasshoppers, spiders, teenagers, and rats, he usually had some sort of small threat that is made larger with either shooting them on smaller sets or super imposing them over a back projector screen. No matter what the latest creature is, coming from Mr. BIG, you can be sure that fun usually ensues. So tune in and get our take on these films as well as some other interesting topics we cover.

Movies we mentioned in this episode:

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Mystery Photo 4-18

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Another Monday and another mystery photo! I had every plan to have this ready to go this morning, but you know how mornings can be. But better late than never. Before we get to this week’s photo, let’s go over the one from last week. It was from the strange 1976 film Dark August, starring Kim Hunter. Kudos to Kevin Hart and Troy Howarth for sending in the correct answer!

Now on to this week’s photo. Let’s see if this one is any easier . . . or harder! Take a peek and then send your guess to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Denis Meikle – Rest in Peace

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Meikle’s book A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer was a very important step in my early days when I was digging deeper into the history of the famous studio. I can still remember first getting a copy in my hands and diving into it. It is one that I even still go back to when doing any kind of research on Hammer, or the countless people involved there. But the books didn’t stop there, with titles covering Vincent Price, the Jack Ripper films, and even Tod Slaughter with Mr. Murder: The Life and Times of Tod Slaughter, which I was thrilled to hear he did this since there isn’t a lot written about this early horror icon.

So it is with great sadness that I am reporting that Mr. Meikle has passed away. His contributions to the horror genre journalism were not only amazing, but very impactful to a lot of us fans. Longtime friend and collaborator, Dick Klemensen, posted the below comment on his Facebook page, and I think it really sums up Meikle perfectly.

“Denis was a scholar. Fans would get irritated if he didn’t seem to like the films as much as they did.
But if that is the worst thing he ever did…he always made one think.”

As a journalist, making someone think about a film, whether you agree or not, does make it possible to see something you might have missed otherwise. Not always, but you have to be open to new ideas and opinions. That is how we learn more about what we love.

Thank you, Mr. Meikle, for those very important lessons in film and being a better fan. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Mystery Photo 4-11

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Sorry for the late posting but we were at the Cinema Wasteland show over the weekend and had one hell of a time, not to mention a very exhausting one. Didn’t get much sleep but had a blast seeing our convention friends and getting to hang out and talk movies all weekend! I may have bought a thing or two while there as well . . . But so glad to have a little escape from reality and see some old friends. So much fun. So many movies, so little sleep!

Our last photo was from the 2016 film Tonight She Comes, which must be a rare one because we didn’t get any correct answers sent in. Which is a shame since I think it is worth seeing. Might disturb a few people, maybe even offend their sense of taste, but you will have to admit that it is an effective film in what it tries to do. Or at least, that is MY opinion. So, proceed with caution!

Here is this week’s photo, so take a peek and see if this one is a little more recognizable. Just remember to send us your guess in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Discover the Horror Podcast: Episode 14 – Reference Books!

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Before the Internet, horror reference books are where you’d go to learn about the genre. Whether it was film and video guides, biographies, or just general information titles, we learn about new titles as well as learn more about the ones we already knew. And it is still as effective today!

In this episode, we cover some titles that were essential to us, as well as some of our favorite titles today. Listen to the episode, take notes, and start to build your own library which will definitely help you along your journey in Discovering even MORE Horror!

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