For me, this holiday is really about Turkey Day, my marathon of cinematic shipwrecks that I’ve been doing for almost two decades (which I hope you can join us tomorrow!). But no matter what your beliefs or feelings about the actual Thanksgiving, it should be a time to think about what you are thankful for. Granted, we shouldn’t have to wait until one day a year for it and should think and appreciate that every single day. But here are a few things that I am thankful for.
While Thanksgiving is in a couple of days, where quite a few of us will be stuffing our faces with enough food to put us into a food coma, the real event in this Friday: Turkey Day 2021! Make sure you are well rested because we have some . . . uh . . . great titles lined up for this year’s marathon. Some of these might test your will as well as hope for humanity, but we are professionals. What doesn’t kill you, and all that stuff.
The Kosmi room will open up at 9am with an hour full of trailers. This will give you plenty of time to get logged in, hooked up, or whatever else you need to do to be ready by 10am, because that is when the first feature will start.
Here is the link to the Kosmi Room: https://app.kosmi.io/room/draqzn. When you check in, if it doesn’t let you put in your name, please announce who you are, just so everyone is not trying to guess. Makes it a little easier. Just remember to have fun and enjoy the films!
Here is our schedule for the features:
Cinema history changed 90 years ago on this day, with the release of James Whale’s Frankenstein. Sure, Dracula had been released in February and was a big hit, but some thought it was a fluke. But once Frankenstein hit the screens, the wheels started turning for what would become the Universal Horror Classics. Can you imagine being in that audience 9 decades ago, having no idea what you were going to be seeing onscreen?
Of course, one of the reasons the picture was a success does fall on the shoulders of Boris Karloff and his incredible performance. He not only sparked a multitude of nightmares to adults with this character, but children from around the world saw through the makeup and saw the “monster” for what he really was, an innocent outsider. Growing up as a horror fan, like a lot of us, knew what it was like to be different and looked upon as strange or weird. So the creature has always had a special place with me.
This film has always been a personate favorite of mine, and would be in my top ten films of all time. It still is as impactful and powerful today as it was 90 years ago, thanks to everyone from the mad genius James Whale, the anxiety-ridden character of Henry brought to life by Colin Clive, the set designers to created this world they lived in. And of course, had it not been for makeup man Jack Pierce, we might not be celebrating this anniversary.
Here’s to another 90 years to our deeply misunderstood creature. May people continue to learn not to judge people from the way they look, but what is inside them.
Don’t forget folks, just to make sure everything is working, we’re going to be screening a trial film on Saturday at noon (CST). This will give you a chance to log in to make sure you can see and hear everything. It will be only one movie too. You can obviously stay for the whole feature or just check in to make sure everything works. The plan will be starting at 12pm sharp.
The link for it will be the same for the actual Turkey Day on Friday the 26th, which is:
https://app.kosmi.io/room/draqzn
Hope to see you there, as well as on the actual Turkey Day. I’ve got some great films lined up for then that you are not going to want to miss!
Trust me, folks, I am probably not the happiest person when it comes to having to double dip on newer versions of the movies we love that keep coming out. New features, new 4K scan, and the rest of that stuff that tries to squeeze a little money from our wallets. Some titles are advertised with a bunch of new features but then you find out one of those “features” is a 4-minute interview. And don’t even get me started on this whole fascination with slip covers. Seriously … since when did a silly cardboard cover become more valuable than the actual movie?
With all that aside, when Shout Factory announced their new updated version of The Vampire Lovers, I quickly ordered it. I know. Pretty sad. But it all came down to that amazing 18×24 poster by Mark Maddox that was offered in the special deal. I have several prints from Maddox and just love his work, and with The Vampire Lovers being one of my favorites, I wasn’t going to pass up adding that poster to my collection. I believe I have all the posters that he did for Shout Factory that were offered. You have to figure that those prints are $25-$40 if you were to buy them at a show, so technically you’re getting the Blu-ray for free!
Continue reading
It has definitely been crazy these last few months here at the Krypt, especially this one. It seems I always end up so busy that it is hard to find time to celebrate and enjoy the holiday. But I did force myself to at least get in 31 movies this month. I’ve been a little laxed the last couple of months so I wanted to make sure I could at least average 1 a day during October.
But now that our convention season has come to an end, that part of our lives will slow down at least until March. Of course, that just means I need to get to work on all the other projects I’ve got brewing! Plenty more articles to write, books to read & review, and definitely more movies to watch! Plus, now that Halloween is over, that means the planning for this year’s Turkey Day Marathon needs to start! Still no details on if we’re going back to a live event or will continue to do it online, or both. Stay tuned for more details on that.
So from everyone here at the Krypt, we wish everyone out there a huge and Happy Halloween! Stay safe, be a little kinder to each others (especially people we don’t know), watch more horror movies, and definitely keep Discovering the Horror!
Just when I was content with not getting into collecting a lot of these horror action figures or collectible figures, I hear about some of these Hammer figures that Mego is now putting out. These are all 8″ figures that pre-orders are being taken now. The two they announced last week were for The Gorgon and The Mummy. Which, while they were not bad looking and only priced at $20 each, it didn’t make me change my mind on having to collect them.
Next weekend, we’re heading back to Mars, PA for the return of the Monster Bash Conference, taking place on October 22nd to the 24th! It has been two years since their last show, and we are so excited to be making our own return. We always have so much fun there and are looking to do it all over once again. Since this is our last show of the year, so we want to make it one mother of a show!
They have an incredible guest list slated for this show, one that I’m especially excited about. That would be Victoria Vetri, who happened to star in Hammer’s When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970), which means I can add one more autograph to my Hammer Filmography book. This will be the 17th signature from people that worked with the famous Studio that Dripped Blood. As you can imagine, this book is a very prized title in my library, especially since quite a few that have signed it has passed away since then.
Continue reading
The latest issue of the long running (and best magazine devoted to all things Hammer) is now out and available to order. This issue tackles Hammer’s 1964 film The Gorgon, starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Barbara Shelley, with the article Reflections of Fear: The Making of The Gorgon by Joshua Kennedy.
Within the pages, you’ll also find the article Cut Me a Robe from Toe to Lobe … Give Me a Skin for Dancing In: The Making of The Witches by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, as well as an article on the star of that film, Joan Fontaine. There is also an article on Don Houghton, the screenwriter of the modern day Dracula films Hammer made in the early to mid ’70s, by David Gee.
Like with any issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors, every page is a delight and filled with great stuff. Head over to their website HERE to order your copy now. And if you want to know more about Hammer, just pick up some of their back issues that are readily available.
I know as horror fans we watch these films all year round. But there is something about October that we seem not only double our efforts when it comes to scary screenings, but I know there are a few titles that we all have that we bust out each and ever October. Could be a childhood favorite? One that really hit home with us around holiday? Or one that just fits the mood of Halloween and is something you need to watch at least once a year.
Continue reading
kitleyskrypt.com 