Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

Criterion Releasing del Toro’s Frankenstein

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I can’t say I’m surprised to hear the news yesterday that Criterion will be releasing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on 4K and Blu-ray this October. They’ve released a lot of his previous films, and have always done such stellar work, so while I’m not surprised, I am damn excited about it. With a planned release on Oct. 27th, the 4K+Blu-ray set will be 4 discs, that will feature 2 versions of the film, both in 4K. It will have the theatrical version on one disc and a new 158-minute extended director’s cut of the film, called Frankenstein: The Reborn Cut, both with Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The Reborn Cut will have a new commentary by del Toro.

Other features on the set include:

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Lady in White 4K

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My very first horror convention I went to was in California in April of 1988. One of the guests at that show, promoting his new movie, was writer/director Frank LaLoggia, a ghost story called Lady in White. He had previously written and directed Fear No Evil (1981), which I had not seen at that time. But when Lady hit the theaters, I went to go see it and I was blown away. I’ve always liked traditional ghost stories, one where there is a sort of a mystery to be solved, but yet still be creepy. And this one fit the bill to a tee.

There is something special about a film that is able to capture a moment of history of small-town American, with the good and the bad, that makes you feel like you are there in that same timeless element. Lady in White does just that. A young Lucas Haas plays Frankie, a future wannabe writer who loves to spooky stories, gets locked in the cloakroom at school one night. He witnesses a ghostly murder of a young girl, as if it was happening right in front of him then and there. After nearly dying, he sets off to uncover the truth of what he saw, even though nobody believes him.

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Mystery Photo 6-1

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Welcome to June! Almost halfway through the year. Congrats on all of us for surviving so far! Our last photo was from the 2002 war film, Deathwatch, starring Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis. Around that time, there were more than a few of these similar themed war films, about the soldiers being haunted by something, but I remember this one being especially good. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer: Aaron AuBuchon, Todd Barwick, Aaron Christensen, Kevin Hart, Erik Martin, and James Turner. Well done!

Now on to this week’s photo. See if you can figure out the title from this wonderful shot of a house that just seems so warm and cozy! Just remember to send your guess to me in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And Good Luck!

Horror of Dracula in 4K and UNCUT!

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We kind of figured that a 4K release of Hammer’s Horror of Dracula (1958) would be coming out at some point, after the huge release of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), not to mention several other titles. But what most fans didn’t expect was that it would contain footage never seen before, thought to lost for over six decades! I know when the Blu-ray came out a few years ago, which had a few seconds of long thought lost footage, of the Count’s demise, everyone was pretty excited about that. Those were some extra seconds, but now they are talking about 3 minutes of footage that is being restored into the film.

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I Don’t Collect Toys… I Don’t Collect Toys…

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That is a mantra that I can repeat over and over and over until I’ve lost my voice, but it still won’t change the fact that I see something like this announced and I feel like a little kid again. I know I’ve even said this many times before, but who would have ever thought that we would have a Octaman action figure!?!?! Seriously? But in the past year or two, I’ve gotten a Beast of Blood figure and one from Humanoids from the Deep! And now, thanks to Monstarz Toys, next month you’ll be able to have not only your own Octaman figure, but in 3 different variants: the regular version, a Radioactive Glow version, or a Metachrosis Camouflage version.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors – End of an Era

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The first issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors I purchased was # 8, which had originally come out in May of 1984. It was probably closer to the mid ’80’s to late ’90s when I picked it up. The main reason was because I was starting to go nuts over Hammer Films and The Vampire Lovers was one of my favorites, and issue # 8 was all about the Karnstein trilogy, so of course I had to get it. And from that issue on, I started to get the latest copy of Little Shoppe of Horrors every time one came out. It really was a Hammer Films fan’s dream come true, because it was so damn informative about not only the films, but those that were involved in making them.

And now, after over 5 decades and 53 issues, it is finally coming to an end. Issue # 53 will be released next month and has a cover story of the making of The Abominable Snowman (1957) by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, as well as an interview with Clive Dawson on the un-filmed Snowman, and an interview with star Forrest Tucker by David Aquino & George Stover. There is also a feature on the making of The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) by John Hamilton, an article by Stephen R. Bissette on John Gillin’s The Gamma People (1956), as well as other amazing pieces such as interviews with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Hinds.

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Hammer Unleashes X

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Two years before The Blob emerged from a meteor that landed in Pennsylvania and started devouring very old teenagers, over in Scottland, a very similar creature started attacking the locals. Except this one didn’t come from outer space, from within the bowels of the earth. In X – The Unknown (1956), during some mine detection training with the army, the radioactive material used drew the attention of some creature that breaks loose onto the surface, leaving a couple of soldiers with severe radiation burns. Except with no witnesses, and the creature going back down underground, nobody can figure out what could have caused the burns on the men. That’s when you call in the scientist, Dr. Royston, played by American star Dean Jagger, which was a common thing to do for British pictures to help with foreign distribution. You also have Michael Ripper as one of the sergeants in the military.

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Severin Celebrates Sangster!

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Jimmy Sangster is one name that is partially responsible for what Hammer Films is known for. While he may not think that what he did was all that special, he was an essential part of the mechanism that help give birth to a new generation of gothic horror films, resurrecting famous monsters that were not only long-thought passé, but giving them to fans like we’d never seen before.

Sangster had started in the industry, like most, at the bottom, as a third assistant director on the film Third Time Lucky (1949) for producer Mario Zampi. That same year, when Zampi was asked to produce the film Dick Barton Strikes Back for Hammer, he brought a lot of his crew to work on the film, including Sangster, who would now make his Hammer debut as Second Assistant director! At the age of 21, he became Britain’s youngest Assistant Director!

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Hammer is Killing My Wallet!

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After years of complaining about Hammer Films getting a new owner and a promised reboot that never happens, I would almost say that I’m regretting that it is actually happening now. But I won’t. Because even though it’s costing me more and more money, I’m loving every minute of it! We all know the incredible special edition box sets they have put out on the first two Quatermass films, as well as The Curse of Frankenstein, as well as some other more rare non-horror titles, but now even releasing some non-Hammer but still British horror titles, such as Doctor Blood’s Coffin and Cry of the Banshee. Then there is their new documentary Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters documentary that his coming out. What more could we ask for? How about The House of Hammer: Volume 1?

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Double Dose of Frankenstein Soundtrack?

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Even before the movie came out, because I was so excited about it, when Alexadra Desplat’s soundtrack became available on Amazon in a digital format, I bought it. It had 37 tracks with a running time of about 105 minutes. Granted, for a movie almost 2 1/2 hours long, and being del Toro, you know it’s going to have a big score. That is the artwork on the left below.

But about a week ago, I saw they were releasing the actual CD soundtrack, put out by AEC, (pictured on the right below) but even though it is a 2-disc release, it does not have the whole score that I originally purchased on Amazon. This version only has 29 tracks, but it doesn’t list the complete running time, but it looks like it’s about 15 minutes shorter. Not sure why they would do that, but there you have it. If you want the longer score, the digital format might be the only way. They are both showing available on Amazon.