Busy, Busy, Busy

April 9, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Conventions, Misc. Ramblings and tagged Dark Delicacies, Monsterpalooza | 1 Comment

I know the updates here have been getting farther and farther apart it seems but have no fear. The Krypt is not close to shutting its doors anytime in the near future. I have just been crazy busy. My work in the real world has been utter chaos which has me questioning my career choice every single day. Plus, I’ve got some big writing deadlines I’m working on, not to mention trying to get the book to the final stages before going to the design and layout stage. So while the updates aren’t as regular right now, they will be back. I promise.

Adding to the things taking me away from the site is a couple of cons. Last weekend, for the very first time, the wife and I attended Cinema Wasteland not as dealers, but as regular fans. I gotta admit, it was pretty strange. There were several times during the weekend that I had a momentary thought that I needed to get back to my table. But it was fun hanging out with our friends, spending way too much money, and still getting very little sleep over the three days. And can’t wait to do it again.

But this weekend, we’re off for another first. We’re heading to the West Coast for our very first Monsterpalooza! I’ve been hearing about this show for years, so this time we decided to make it happen, and I’m really excited about it. So I would expect plenty of photos to be posted on our Facebook page over those three days. And we’ll get to actually visit Dark Delicacies as well!

So if you’re coming out to the show this weekend, maybe we’ll see you! Just look for the guy in the Kitley’s Krypt shirt with his eyes bulging out of his head at all the amazing displays!

Naschy’s Werewolf Lineage

March 14, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Javier Trujillo, Lineage of the Werewolf, Paul Naschy, Waldemar Daninsky | 1 Comment

Naschy fans take note! There is a new illustrated book out that tells the story of Naschy’s The Beast and the Magic Sword (1983), which has our favorite werewolf, Waldemar Daninsky back in feudal Japan!

The book is 40 pages of full color illustrations, under the title The Lineage of the Werewolf. It almost sounds like this could be a series of books, which would be fantastic! I’ve seen other illustrations by artist Javier Trujillo and they look incredible. Just look him up on Facebook to see his work. Even his non-Naschy work is top-notch.

If you’re interested in this book though, you can order it directly from Amazon. Just click HERE.

Master of Dark Shadows

March 7, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Dan Curtis, Dark Shadows, David Gregory, Dracula, Master of Dark Shadows, Night Stalker, Norliss Tapes, Trilogy of Terror | Leave a comment

Master of Dark Shadows You couldn’t grow up watching TV in the ’70s and not know of the work of Dan Curtis. His work had a huge impact on my life, from The Night Stalker (1972), The Norliss Tapes (1973), Trilogy of Terror (1975), and so many other made-for-TV movies. Oh yeah, and there was that series Dark Shadow that you might have heard of. Needless to say, if it was from Curtis, you know it was going to be worth your time. And now, thanks to director David Gregory, we’re going to have a chance to learn a little bit more about this amazing man.

Set to be released next month, this feature length documentary covers Curtis and his work, hearing from a ton of people that worked with him and were fans of his work, such as Ben Cross, Roger Davis, Jonathan Frid, Whoopi Goldberg, John Karlen, William F. Nolan, David Selby, Barbara Steele, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Bob Cobert, and many more.

While he definitely worked outside the horror genre a few times, like writing, producing, and directing the Emmy Award Winning mini-series War and Remembrance (1988-89), he made such an impact with horror fans with his films. And they are still as entertaining now, decades later, as they were then. Kudos to Gregory for helping bring light to this talented man that was use to working in the shadows.

More Hammer from Scream Factory!

March 6, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Frankenstein Created Woman, Hammer Films, Mark Maddox, Peter Cushing, Scream Factory, Susan Denberg, Thorley Walters | Leave a comment

Frankenstein Created Woman Never a bad bit of news when there is an announcement of another Hammer film hitting Blu-ray, especially when it is coming from Scream Factory. If the fact that it’s another Hammer title doesn’t get your attention, then this amazing cover art from Mark Maddox probably will. Coming out on June 11th, the extras haven’t been finalized yet, but if it is what we’ve come to expect from Scream Factory, it will be well worth it. If you pre-order it now, you’ll get an 18×24 poster of the Maddox artwork!

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) was Hammer’s fourth entry in their Frankenstein series, with Peter Cushing returning once again as the evil doctor. This time out, instead of sewing bodies together, he is experimenting with soul transferring! Starring the lovely Susan Denberg, and the always entertaining Thorley Walters, this is a must for Hammer fanatics!

For ordering information, just head over to Shout Factory’s site HERE.

Rondo Award Time!

March 3, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Rondo Award | 1 Comment

rondobanner

Yes Folks, it is that time once again. The annual Rondo Awards have been announced and it is time for all fans of the genre to take a few minutes and cast your votes. Yes, my column for HorrorHound has been nominated again, but this isn’t a call for votes for me. Sure, if you want to vote, I’ll take it. But there are so many other talented people here nominated, most of which are doing it for the sheer pleasure and passion. In fact, just being nominated shows that and brings attention to them. The Rondos are about the fans that continue to work in keeping the movies we love alive and well, and definitely not forgotten.

Plus, it makes my heart shine with I go through the nominees and see so many people I call my friend. Granted, it makes it harder to vote when they are in the same category, but that is my burden to bear!

Head over to the Rondo Awards page (just click HERE) and vote. You don’t have to vote in every category but vote with your heart.

Hemisphere Horrors!

February 24, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Al Adamson, Andrew Leavold, Brain of Blood, Christopher Lee, Curse of the Vampires, David Decoteau, Eddie Garcia, Gerry De Leon, Hemisphere Pictures, Howard S. Berger, Nathaniel Thompson, Sam Sherman, The Black Cat, The Blood Drinkers, Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism | Leave a comment

Hemisphere Horrors Once again, Severin comes through in delivering the goods! After wetting fan’s appetite with the Blood Island box set, now you can experience more that Hemisphere Pictures released back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, all collected together in great little box set. Here are the films you get:

The Blood Drinkers (1964)
Curse of the Vampires (1966)
Brain of Blood (1971)
The Black Cat (1966)
The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967)

While the first 3 titles will be available separately, the last two are only available in the box set, which will retails at $59.99. Not a bad deal when you consider you’re getting 5 features, all been given 2K and 4K scans from vault film elements. These are probably going to look the best they ever have!

I remember back in the early days of me collecting films, trying to find some of these films were tricky because they sometimes would go under several different names. The distributors would change the names and release them over and over again, hoping the public wouldn’t notice that they might have seen this picture already! That is why Curse of the Vampires is also known as both Creatures of Evil and Blood of the Vampires.

Continue reading →

Paul Naschy Shirts & Posters!

February 20, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Gerardo Moreno, Paul Naschy | Leave a comment

Naschy Shop 2

We recently came across the Paul Naschy Official Shop, and were just blown away at the artwork on there. So much so that we immediately ordered a T-shirt and a poster print, which was then immediately framed and hung once the poster arrived. They have a wide variety of different images that you can get on a shirt, poster, or many different options. Head over to their website HERE and see all the different items they have, from werewolves, devils, vampires, and so much more.

The artist is Gerardo Moreno and he continues to do an excellent job keeping Naschy’s memory alive and well.

Back from the Dead

February 17, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings | Leave a comment

back from the dead1

I know it’s been a while since our last update, but I wanted to let everyone know that the Krypt is still alive and kicking. I have been busy these last few weeks working on a special project that I will hopefully be announcing at the end of the week. This is something I have been working on for several years now and am so thrilled to having it so close to being finished. But more details to come shortly.

In the meantime, I’m hoping to get back to our regular updates. The Kryptic World Tour of 2019 starts next month at the HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati, OH, with another huge guest lineup. We’ll be set up there as usual, so please make sure you stop by!

Review: Seeding of a Ghost (1983)

January 22, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings, Reviews: Movies and tagged Hong Kong Horror, Seeding of a Ghost, Yang Chuan | Leave a comment

seedingbanner

Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
Directed by Yang Chuan
Starring Man Biu Baak, Jaime Mei Chun Chik, Norman Chu, San Nam Hung, Maria Jo, Philip Ko, Sha-fei Ouyang, Mat Tin

Back in the late 90’s, Hong Kong films started to make their way into the American cult market, while it would be a few more years before Hollywood took notice of the likes of Jackie Chan and John Woo. At that time, while I was diving head first into the action stuff, I was also discovering the horror flicks coming from there as well. Just like they did with their action titles, some of their horror titles were like nothing we’d seen here in the states. For those who might not be familiar with Hong Kong horror, some may be more fantasy based, and even had some strange humor about, there were more than a few titles that you better have a strong stomach! When you get to hear about a sub-sub-genre of films referred simply as “bug-barfing movies”, you kind of know what you’re getting into.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Sadist (1963)

January 15, 2019 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings, Reviews: Movies and tagged Arch Hall Jr., Don Russell, Helen Hovey, James Landis, Marilyn Manning, Richard Alden, The Sadist, Vilmos Zsigmond | Leave a comment

sadistbanner

The Sadist (1963)
Directed by James Landis
Starring Arch Hall Jr., Richard Alden, Marilyn Manning, Don Russell, Helen Hovey

One of the things that always set low budget filmmakers apart from the big studios is that they were always willing to take risks and tackle subjects the bigwigs wouldn’t touch. In 1958, Charles Starkweather went on a killing spree, taking his 15-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate along for the fun. When it was over, they had murdered 11 people, including Fugate’s own 2-year-old step-sister. At that time, Hollywood wouldn’t dare touch a subject like this one. It wouldn’t be until 1973, when Terrence Malick would direct the film Badlands. But in 1963, only after 5 years since those tragic crimes, James Landis wrote and directed a film inspired by this murderous rampage. The film was called The Sadist.

Continue reading →