Obviously one of the things I preach here at the Krypt is Discover the Horror. By that, I mean to explore and seek out new things in the genre, both old and new…but mainly old. One of the things that makes this a little easier these days are these Blu-ray companies who are putting out some amazing titles, some that were on the verge of being lost in the vast wasteland of obscurity. But thanks to companies like Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow Video, Shout Factory, Code Red, Severin, Dark Sky, Mondo Macabro, just to name a few, they are not only keeping these films alive and available, but giving some titles a treatment that they probably never had before, even when they were first released.
Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings
More Naschy Blu-rays!!!
To say the news of more Paul Naschy films hitting blu-ray is a bit exciting to me, especially when they are two titles that never even hit DVD, is the definitiion of an understatement. Earlier today, Mondo Macabro announced that they will be releasing both of these titles at some point next year. They haven’t said what the extras might be, but at this point, who cares. The fact that they are coming out is amazing and whatever extras they do come up with is just going to be icing on the cake.
Need Some Music for the Holiday?
If you’re like me, horror movie soundtracks are a staple of my day. Each and every time I’m at work on my computer, I have a horror soundtrack playing in the background. Even now, I’m listening to Pet Sematary‘s score by Elliot Goldenthal. True story.
If you’re looking for a few scores to add to your collection, you may want to head over to La-La Land Records to take advantage of their Halloween sale that ends tomorrow. You can find some good deals for only $4 each! You can pick up the soundtracks for The Sender, Trick ‘r Treat, The Conjuring, and a few more for just a few bucks. For $10, you can get yourself copies of Friday the 13th (the original) and Evil Dead (the remake), Pet Sematary (the expanded release, which I just ordered), and a few more. Or for $15, you can get John Harrison’s Creepshow, which I have to say is simply a must for any collector of horror soundtracks. It is one of my all-time favorites. But in that same price range, they have Day of the Dead, Magic (which I also just ordered), and Monster Squad.
Monster Party at the Chicago Toy Show
Even though I’m a huge horror fan and collector, I tend to stay away from the horror toys. Mainly because once you start down that road, not only does it go on forever, but has so many side paths and diversions, that your bank account will hate you forever, not to mention trying to find space for all of the stuff you start to find. But I do like seeing some of the stuff, especially the older items that I remember from my childhood, and even more so, seeing how much it is going for these days. That is the reason why I, along with my wife Dawn and son Nick, headed out to the Chicago Toy Show today. As it turns out, it was well worth the trip.
Horror Hunters Are Coming!
While I tend to hate reality shows, as well as never being too good at self-promotion, I do want to point this little adventure I was involved in that was a lot of fun. Horror Hunters is a pilot show where to horror fiends go to visit different like-minded fans to see their collections, and maybe do a trade with them. It debuts this Wednesday on Shout Factory TV at 9pm ET/6pm PT, with an encore screening at 12am ET/9pm PT. See below for the press release from Shout Factory.
Movie Review: Dead End Drive-In
Dead End Drive-In (1986)
Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Starring Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wilde, Dave Gibson, Sandie Lillingston, Ollie Hall
Can you say ’80s? Set in the future (at least the future from 1986), the world lives in chaos. At least apparently in Australia. There’s isn’t too much explanation given here, but somehow a drive-in theater is turned into sort of a short term prison, or something to that effect. Not just criminal, but more like the dregs of society. Our young hero named Crabbs and his girlfriend go on a date to the theater and wake up the next morning realizing they are now trapped. Actually, it takes a while for him to get the idea. Then the rest of the movie is about dealing with others there, as well as trying to figure out a way to escape.
Little Shoppe Gets Lost!
The next issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors will be featuring one of Hammer’s lesser known titles, The Lost Continent, based on the novel Uncharted Seas by Dennis Wheatley. Now this film may not have the usually Gothic trappings of what most Hammer fans may expect, with vampires and mad scientist everywhere, but it does have plenty of thrills and monsters! You have killer weeds, a giant mollusk fighting a giant scorpion, a cult lead by a child, and plenty more craziness!
What about Flemish Horror?
We’re always discussing films from the major hitters in the horror genre, like the US, Italy, Japan, Spain, to just name a few. But what about the smaller countries that while might not poured out the buckets of the red stuff, they did make more than a few films for them to wave their flag proudly. In 2014, when the Belgian film Cub was released, from director Jonas Govaerts, it was not only winning awards, but was being labeled as “the first Belgian horror films”, which bothered him, as well as director and horror journalist Steve De Roover. So De Roover decided to do something about it and created this documentary that highlights the history of Flemish Horror, called Forgotten Scares.
Those Who Walk Before Us Should Not Walk Alone
“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery.
I had mentioned this on my Facebook page a few days ago, but I feel that I need to comment it on here as well, but in a slightly longer detail. In issue #170 of Rue Morgue, they have Shirley Jackson on the cover. Who is Shirley Jackson you ask? I would hope that everyone out there knows who she is, but sadly, that is probably not the case. It is this exactly reasoning that I feel why Rue Morgue needs to be applauded for this. By not just putting something their cover that they know it will draw attention of potential customers and sales, they decide to put the relatively unknown Jackson on it, in tribute of what would have been her 100th birthday this year.
En la Memoria del Sr. Naschy
Today would have been the 82nd birthday of Spanish horror icon, Jacinto Molina, better known to us horror fans as Paul Naschy. Though he has been gone for almost seven years now, his memory and legacy is still as strong now, if not more, then when he was still with us. I think that has something to do with the fact that Naschy himself was so passionate about his work that it still comes through in the countless films that he left us. And with each new year passing, younger fans become aware of him and his work and his legacy continues. Thanks to DVD and blu-ray, and companies like Demios, Vinegar Sydrome, Kino Lober, Code Red, and the rest, they are helping keeping him and his films alive and well, and available for years to come.
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