Grindhouse Releasing Pieces Bluray

December 10, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Grindhouse Releasing, Juan Piquer Simon, Pieces | 1 Comment

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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!

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“The internet has killed reference books.”

December 2, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Brutal as Hell, Modern Horror, Scott Weinberg | 2 Comments

Uh….what?

InternetDoesntLie 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.”

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Give the Gift of Knowledge

November 29, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Book News, Misc. Ramblings and tagged Book of the Dead, Chain Saw Confidential, Fantasic Films of the Decades, Gunnar Hansen, Jamie Russell, Lucio Fulci, Mark Thomas McGee, Midnight Marquee, Ozzy Inguanzo, Peveril Publishing, Splintered Visions, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Troy Howarth, Wayne Kinsey, You Won't Believe Your Eyes, Zombies on Film | 2 Comments

collection1 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.

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Twitter Time

November 27, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Twitter | Leave a comment

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

November 26, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings, Turkey Day Marathon and tagged Stephen Thrower, Turkey Day, Turkey Day Marathon | Leave a comment

turkeyday 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.

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Interview: John Amplas

November 17, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Interviews, Misc. Ramblings and tagged Creepshow, John Amplas, Martin | 1 Comment

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This interview was conducted back in October of 2008, at the Cinema Wasteland show.

Kitley’s Krypt: How did you get into acting?

martinposter 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

November 16, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings | Leave a comment

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.

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Turkey Day Approaches

November 11, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Turkey Day Marathon | Leave a comment

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 →

Support the Cause!

November 3, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Between the Eyes, Empire Pictures, Hammer Films, Revenant, Robert Cappelletto | Leave a comment

I know that it seems these days everyone is asking for money for some project they are working on. I’m sure there are more than a few that are just either just schemes to get your money, or by people that might be better off looking into another line of work. But I also would like to think that there are a few that are honest endeavors, just need a little extra cash to help them get it going. So why should we give money to some of these people, when we are working our own butts off in the real world? Why don’t they do the same? Well, maybe because some of these people ARE working their butts off in the real world, but are working EVEN MORE to try and get a passion project created. And not only created, but for other people to enjoy them.

Over the last month, I think I have contributed to four different causes. Which in the last year, I think that would bring the total number for the year to about…four. But why these? The answer is simple and is really the main reason why any of us should support these, or any kind of these projects….because I BELIEVE in them. And showing support by giving a few $$ is not only a way to help these people get their project going, but also showing them that they are a creative force worth investing in, maybe even validating their decisions for what they are doing and why. Having people believe you and your talent is the best fuel and motivation any artist (of any type) could hope for (at least for me it is). And a little financial boost to a project shows that you believe in that person(s) talent for a particular project, or in general.

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Happy Halloween from the Krypt

October 31, 2015 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Halloween | 1 Comment

Today is the day. The last day of the year when all of us horror nerds actually don’t stand out in normal society like we do every other time of the year. Not that any of us really cares to fit in, since we’ve long since gotten used to following our own dark and twisted path. But this is the day to celebrate our love and passion for this unbelievable entertaining genre of films that have kept people like us entertained since the birth of cinema.

But tomorrow, when the rest of the world starts to get prepared for that big commercial holiday and give praise to the fat man in the red suit, we know that we will just continue on with us celebrating our love for horror movies. Okay, maybe taking a little break for a while because of all the movies that we’ve watched in the last 31 days, but you know what I mean!

So from Kitley’s Krypt, we wish everyone out there a safe and Happy Halloween! I know we’ll be trying to get a few movies under our belt today since it has been a pretty light month for me viewing wise. But I hope to make up for some of that today.

See you on the other side…