Sorry for no new Mystery Photo this week, but we got hit with a big storm this last Saturday that knocked out our power for about 8 hours. When it came back on, no internet. Of course, it took 3 days for them to come out and fix it. So, in the meantime, while I could get to my email from my phone, couldn’t do much else. But hopefully we’ll be back to our regular rantings and ramblings from this point on!
Thanks for your understanding!
I would like to hope that Dan Curtis was very aware of the impact he had on young fans of the horror genre. From when he took a chance on a failing daytime soap opera, adding a vampire to see what happened, he never looked back. As a kid growing up in the late ’60s & early ’70s, I was flooded by countless characters, monsters, and other ghastly sites, all thanks to Mr. Curtis. While there as not been a constant stream of his work being released on varying formats over the decades, from VHS, to DVD, and now Blu-Ray, there still have been some that we have yet to see. But thanks to Kino Lober, now only do we get two of the three of his retelling of three classic monsters on Blu-Ray the first time, we also get four films he made for the Late-Night Mysteries series, which all aired in 1974. And if you order them now, they are damn near half price! Both are priced at $39.95 (which is a great deal already with what you’re getting), but now you can get each of them for $26.57! Just head over to Kino Lober by clicking HERE.
I’ve written many times about the “new eyes” concept, where you can’t see the same film twice with the same eyes. In fact, I wrote a whole chapter on it in my book, Discover the Horror back in 2019. But I got to thinking recently about something a little different about that concept. Yes, I still believe in that theory about your eyes while viewing a film, but I started to realize it goes deeper than just that. Sometimes, it is our brain that is “seeing”, or rather “thinking” about something differently or realizing how we’re taking in the story is much different than we thought the first time, or times, around.
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This Wednesday, Aaron Christensen and I will be heading to the Niles-Maine District Library to present a lecture on the Sci-Fi / Horror films of the 1950s. It will take place from 7pm to 8pm, in Studio B, and address is 6960 Oakton St., Niles, IL 60714. We would love to have anybody come out and join our celebration of all those atomic monsters and alien creatures that the movie-going audiences had to deal with back then!
For all the information about the event, just click HERE!
I know the world, specifically the US, is a real shithole right now. There are a lot of people deeply affected by what is going on, from losing their jobs, insurance, and just basic human rights. I always wanted to keep the real world and all of that away from this site because I wanted this to be a place people could go to, to temporarily escape all the BS of reality. Not to dismiss or diminish the struggles everyone might be going through, if I could try and point out that in the midst of all this chaos and crisis, there are still some positives out there.
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I know we posted about September, but with these things, you never know if it is actually going to happen. Especially with something been anxiously waiting over 30 years to happen! But now, it is almost here since Kino Lober has announced the release date and is even taking pre-orders!
For those of you out there that might be unfamiliar with the work of Paul Naschy, which probably means you’re relatively new to this site since I tend to mention him a bit . . . BUT Paul Naschy was a Spanish actor/director/writer and all-around lover of the horror genre. He was inspired as a young boy after seeing Universal’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), mainly the plight of the tragic Lawrence Talbot, the Wolf Man. He would eventually work his way into filmmaking, first appearing in bit parts, before writing a screenplay called La marca del Hombre Lobo. After they couldn’t find a suitable actor to take on the lead role of Waldemar Daninsky, who would acquire the curse of lycanthrope, Naschy was given the chance. And after over a dozen films with him playing the same character (well, in name), not to mention appearing in over 100 films in his career that spanned five decades, his mark on the genre is quite impressive.
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Wow. It just hit me the other day that it’s been a little over 10 whole years since I moved the Krypt from the old website to this new blog format on WordPress. I remember being very concerned and even nervous about making the move, thinking I was losing something in the change. Looking back on it now, I think it was a pretty good decision, especially when you look at websites now compared to 20 years ago.
In those 10 years here, I’ve had over 2500 posts, which I guess shows that I’m still dedicated to helping to spread my love and passion for the horror genre. Granted, in just another 3 years, the Krypt will hit its big 30-year mark, which alone seems hard to believe. But again, it goes to show how much I believe in spreading this “gospel”. When I realize that no matter how long I’ve been a fan myself, that I am still learning so much about the horror genre, and cinema itself, it shows me that there is no endgame here. There is always so much to see and learn. And with every new thing you learn can affect how you see and feel about something you’ve already experienced. With more of an understanding on a particular sub-genre, or a specific film, such as the struggles getting it made, when you view that film again, it will change your viewing, even if its minor.
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We all know the heroic stories of Professor Van Helsing, or Doctor in some films, always doing battle against the undead, saving the world from vampires. In this new film by director Natasha Kermani, which she adapted based on the short story by Joe Hill, we get to see a little more in depth look at the Van Helsing family, and more important, how they were raised by this “hero”.
Starring Titus Welliver as the Van Heling patriarch, who is forever on the lookout for not only other vampires, but perhaps the return of his greatest foe. And in that process, “trains” his sons to carry on this tradition, though one of them is more than a little reluctant to even believe these stories are real.
I am very intrigued on this new take on a very famous character from the world of horror, and how writer Hill came up with this unique twist, and how Kermani has adapted it for the screen. This new film hits theaters on July 11th. Below is the trailer.
The deviants are back to give you nightmares, with back-to-back midnight screenings at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago! On Friday, May 30th, at 11:45pm, they will be hosting a screening of Dream Demon (1988), an underrated horror film that never got the attention it deserves. Directed by Harley Cokeliss, who had previously given us Battletruck (1982) and Black Moon Rising (1986) and starring Jemma Redgrave (who would later go on to appear in a bunch of Dr. Who episodes), Kathleen Wilhoite, and Timothy Spall.
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Being a huge fan of Hammer Studios, I’m so thrilled that they are finally doing what they can to keep the name alive. I’ve heard several times over the last couple of decades that they have new owners, and they are going to start new productions and do all this merchandising . . . and then nothing. But it sure seems with this new one, John Gore, is really doing it. They have already released special editions for the films Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) and The Four-Sided Triangle (1953) and now are set to release the film that really put them on the map, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955).
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