Now that we’ve made it past the holidays, putting the old year into all but memories, it is time to get ready for this new one and start planning our Kryptic World Tour for 2016. Our first stop in the new tour won’t be until the middle of March, at the HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati, but we are counting the days for that. A few weeks after that, we’ll be heading out to Ohio again for the Cinema Wasteland show. We have posted below our full schedule of shows (that we know of so far) that we are planning on attending. There might be one or two more that we’ll add later on in the year, such as maybe a movie marathon or drive-in event, but we’ll let you know when we find out.
Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings
Kryptic Army Legacy Continues…
Back in 2010, when I started the Kryptic Army, it was originally started just as a yearlong contest to try and get people to watch some movies, under a theme that I chose. But after having so much fun with it that first year, I decided to do it another year. Then again. 2015 was our 6th year, and sadly, the last year. As I had already mentioned this to the Army soldiers, it was just getting too much work for me to keep up with the updates, coming up with new and interesting topics each month, and was just taking too much of my time.
Grindhouse Releasing Pieces Bluray
We all know the incredible job Grindhouse Releasing has done with their releases, putting more time and care into some of these cult movies that most people wouldn’t give two seconds to. And they are still add it, with this Blu-ray release of Juan Piquer Simón’s uber slasher flick Pieces. But this isn’t just the movie, but a 3-disc set with a plethora of extras. For those of you who picked up their special 2-dsic DVD set years ago, you will still want to add this edition to your collection. If you missed out on that one, now is your chance to redeem yourself!
“The internet has killed reference books.”
Uh….what?
In a recent post on the blog Brutal as Hell, there was a book review for an ebook called Modern Horrors: An A to Z of Horror Movie Reviews 2000-2015 by Scott Weinberg, and that above quote was the opening line. You can see the post HERE. This isn’t meant as a slam towards the author, the site, or the book they’re reviewing. I enjoy BaH’s site and go there often. This really isn’t anything to do with the book review itself, but really just the author’s first paragraph. Right after making the statement about the internet has killed reference books, he justifies that statement by saying that you can get whatever information from the internet, so basically why the need for a book, saying “if you need more detailed information then you might just turn to Wikipedia.”
Give the Gift of Knowledge
With the holiday season approaching, we are always seeking out just the right gift for that special person in our lives. Now this may come as a bit of a surprise, but I’m a pretty big proponent of books. Yeah, I know….shocker, huh? But honestly, why buy something like a movie for this person (when chances are they might already have it!?!?!) that is just going to sit on a shelf until they get around to watching it. Okay…same could be said for a book…especially in my house. But honestly, a book will stay longer with them, by teaching them something they didn’t know before, which will allow a few different things to happen. For instances, if you get them a biography, they will learn about this particular person, be it a director or actor, which will help them appreciate and understand their work each and every time they watch one of their movies. If it is a simple film guide, it could open up a bunch of titles to them that they might not have known about yet. Or even if it is a book about the genre in general, it could open up some understanding as a whole, which always helps you appreciate it even more, getting you to think about these films possibly a little different than you had before.
Twitter Time
The Krypt has finally joined the rest of the universe it seems and signed up for a Twitter account. At this point, while I still learn how it works and what exactly I want to use it for, who knows what I’ll be posting. But if you want to follow us, we are at @KitleysKrypt, so we’d love for you to follow us.
Time of the Turkey
Yes, it is that time again. Time to celebrate the Turkey. Although, regulars of this site know that I’m not speaking of the poor fowl that will be devoured in mass today, but that of the other kind, the films that some might call a cinematic Titanic. Yes, I speak of the Turkey! The kind of film that only the dedicated and die-hard film fans will not only sit through, but even stranger, will be entertained by it. Because as we all know, described best by author Stephen Thrower (which I agree wholeheartedly), “the only bad movie is a boring one.” There are plenty of movies that have a low IMDB rating that I find wildly amusing. Ones that make me wonder how they ever were financed, produced, directed, edited, and even more amazing…actually released to the theaters! But it happened, time and time again. Obviously they must have made some sort of impact with their audiences because we are still talking about them today! Films like The Giant Claw, Plan Nine from Outer Space, Blood Freak, The Creeping Terror, Monster Dog, and so many more.
Interview: John Amplas
This interview was conducted back in October of 2008, at the Cinema Wasteland show.
Kitley’s Krypt: How did you get into acting?
John Amplas: Oh, that was a long time ago. I was ten years old and my uncle used to do community theater and they needed a kid in a play. So I did a lot of community theater when I was kid and I just kind of got the bug early on from there. In 1963, when I was a teenager, I attended the Playhouse School in Pittsburgh and did that for about 3 years. I spent 3 years in the Army after I graduated from high school, then I studied theater at the same university, then college, to become an actor. In fact, the interesting thing about that, the last production in my senior year is when George Romero came to see it, which is how I got the job to play Martin two or three months later – we started shooting in the fall of 1976. Continue reading
Mystery Photo 11-16
I have to say, I’m pretty surprised and proud to see even this many people that had sent in the correct answer, since this was another tough one. Especially with the shot that I gave you. It was from the film Curse of the Fly. Not as well known or popular as the first two in the series, and is even quite different from them. But one that I feel is still worth watching. But kudos to the following for knowing it: Hoby Abernathy, Ken Johnson, Doug Lamoreux, Gavin Schmitt, and Alan Tromp. Well done, gentlemen!
Now on to this week’s. Yes, I’m sticking with the black and white theme. No reason, other than these just happen to be the ones I’m coming up with. But take a good look and see if you can place this memorable little film. Good luck. As always, just send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Please don’t post your answer here, so everyone has a chance.
Turkey Day Approaches
Now that Halloween is over, there is something even scarier lurking on the horizon. Something so horrible, that it is rumored to rip the will to live right from your soul. No, I’m not talking about the Christmas shopping season, but Turkey Day! For the last 12 years, on the day after Thanksgiving, while many are out there fighting one another for to save a few $$ for the upcoming commercial holiday, a few of us brave souls take on something even more terrifying…the Cinematic Turkey! But this is one feast where gluttony is not only approved, but mandatory!
Each year now, we have traversed through an array of cinematic shipwrecks, usually getting through seven features, that most would shake their hand at and not waste their time. But for us, we revel in these miss-fires of film making, at least for the day. Continue reading
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