Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Movie Review: X

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(2022)
Directed by Ti West
Starring Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Martin Henderson,
Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, James Gaylyn

“X is an extremely good horror movie. Scary, smart, knowing. Oh. And entertaining.” Stephen King

When a film gets a quote like that, that’s pretty much a mic drop moment for the filmmakers. On the same token, it now has a lot to live up to when you go see it. But King is dead on with it. The two words that are key in this little review are “smart” and “knowing”. Watching a lot of horror films, it is very easy to see the “set-ups”, like when someone is going to be standing behind a door once its closed, or something about to come flying through a window when the main character is off to the side of the screen with the window in most of the shot. You start to look for something particular to happen when those shots show up. But that is the real beauty to what West has done here. He sets you up for those but is too smart to play into those tropes. He really does keep you guessing. Same goes with the storyline. You go into thinking one thing, because it’s the obviously way to go, but once again takes you down a different path.

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Mystery Photo 4-4

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Looks like last week’s photo was a little tougher than usual. We only got one correct answer sent in. The shot is from Jaume Balagueró’s 2011 film Mientras duermes, also known as Sleep Tight. If you haven’t seen it, pretty sure it will creep you out and not the one to be watching with the family on a nice Sunday afternoon! Congrats to William Wilson for sending in the correct answer.

Okay, for our first photo for April, let us see if anybody knows what film this shot is from? Take a peek, then send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

New Book on British AIP Films

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While there have been a few books that have covered the productions from American International Pictures, or AIP as they are better known as, but during their reign at the box office and drive-ins, there were 29 titles that were made in the UK, from making deals with Hammer Films, Tigon, and a few other production companies, to release the films over here in the states. Titles like Cat Girl (1957), Horrors of the Black Musuem (1959), Witchfinder General (1968), and The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), plus many others. Now, being published through Little Shoppe of Horrors, author John Hamilton has spent over 20 years working on this volume that will cover 29 film titles, each with in-depth coverage, including over 700 images!

No real date set for this volume, but I know I will definitely be adding it to my library. The films that AIP presented to audiences during that era were some of the ones I grew up on, especially in the days of the VHS boom when so many titles were hitting that new market. When we get more details, we’ll post them here. In the meantime, if you’re interested, fire off an email to Little Shoppe of Horrors main man Richard Klemenson (klemdia@msn.com) to let him know you’re interested.

Happy Birthday Lon Chaney!

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While a lot of people will be posting little April Fools jokes throughout the day, I thought I’d rather spend the time talking about one of the greatest actors that has ever graced the silver screen, who just happened to be born on this day, 139 years ago. His name is Lon Chaney. And I say is because thanks to those wonderful people that have worked on keeping films restored and alive over the years, we can still watch and enjoy, and be amazed at the performances that Chaney gave in his films, meaning he is still with us!

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HorrorHound Weekend: A Huge Success!

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This last weekend was our first stop in the 2022 Kryptic World Tour, the HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati. If this is a sign for the things to come, this is going to be a great year! I was shocked and amazed at the turnout for this show, on all three days. Now anybody that has been to more than a few conventions know that Friday and Saturday are usually the busier days, and Sunday is just for stragglers wandering around. But the crowd for this Sunday seemed just as big as it was for the previous two days! In fact, our sales were so good on Sunday, we sold more stuff on that day than we had over three days at some smaller shows! So, a huge shout out to Nathan & Aaron, as well as all the other HorrorHound workers that made this show go as smoothly as it did and made it a lot of fun.

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New Episode of Discover the Horror Now Live!

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Have you seen Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977), Beyond the Darkness (1979) Anthropophagus (1980), or Absurd (1981)? These are the four films from the one and only Aristide Massaccesi, better known as Joe D’Amato! Joining us in the fun discussion is HorrorHound’s Managing Editor, Aaron Crowell! D’Amato’s films were known to be outrageous, filled with some unbelievable gore as well as sleaze and pure craziness. I mean, when is the last time you saw a guy feasting on his own guts?!?!?

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Mystery Photo 3-28

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Sorry for the late posting, but I’m still trying to recover from HorrorHound Weekend. What an amazing time. But more on that a little later. Let’s get down to business. Our photo from last week was from Bruno Mattei’s Hell of the Living Dead, or Night of the Zombies, or Virus, or a half a dozen other titles. Yes, this isn’t definitely in the same league as Romero or Fulci, but it is a fun little flick. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Kevin Hart, Troy Howarth, Jennifer Stotler, and William Wilson. Well done!

Okay, our photo for today is NOT Italian, so hopefully that should make it much easier. Well, maybe. Give a peek and see what you think. Just remember to send us your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Learn of the Legends

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For fans of the horror movie genre, as well as science fiction, fantasy, action, crime, dramas, and every single other genre out there, makeup effects have been around since the beginning of the art form. Turning actors into someone different, whether it be into someone older, a different gender, or something that doesn’t exist in our reality, it was the job of the makeup artist to make that transformation happen. In the beginning, sometimes it was the actor themselves that did it, especially ones like Lon Chaney who constantly turned himself into different characters. Eventually, the craft was taken on by individuals that not only carried on the art form, but created techniques and the makeup products themselves, advancing the artform even more. They allowed writers and directors to show filmgoers something they’ve never seen before onscreen. And a century later, these talented people are still doing it. Now, thanks to authors Howard Berger and Marshall Julius, you’ll be able to learn even more about them!

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HorrorHound Approaches!

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In just a few days, we’ll be heading to Cincinnati for our first convention of the year and looking forward so much to getting back into the swing of things. It’s been five months since our last show and we’re chomping at the bit to see all our horror family this weekend! We’ll be set up there with our usual array of horror reference books which is a great place to continue your journey to Discover the Horror! And because this is our first show of the year, we’re going to have several great titles on sale! So, make sure you stop by our table to see what we have in store for you!

Plus, we’ll have some other goodies like some soundtracks, DVDs and Blu-rays, and maybe even some magazines we’re getting rid of from our own collection.

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Mystery Photo 3-21

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Back to the grindstone, as they say. But at least I’m hoping these little mystery photos are giving you some sort of enjoyment about your Monday! One can hope. The photo from last week was from the Italian film Panic (1982), starring David Warbeck and Janet Agren. Not the greatest film but a fun watch. The VHS box art was always one to draw in a potential viewer, which means it totally did its job! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Troy Howarth, Simon Jakobsen, Tim Palace, Michael Shields, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Great job! Always nice to see when obscure titles like this one get a little recognition.

But on to this week’s photo! This is another favorite of mine, mainly because we had it at the theater when I worked there, if that gives anybody a little hint on the time frame! But I think a lot of you are going to know this little tike in the photo! Remember, send me your answer in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!