Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

Hammer Unleashes Quatermass!

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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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The Degenerate: The Life and Films of Andy Milligan

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Growing up in the age of video stores, I was aware of some of the films of Andy Milligan, such as The Rats Are Coming! The Werewolves Are Here! and Tortue Dungeon, just from seeing them on the shelves. But I never was that familiar with him, other than knowing he made some schlocky low budget films. But thanks to Severin Films, when they released their incredible Milligan box set, The Dungeon of Andy Milligan collection, which featured 14 different film titles and a plethora of extras. This amazing set allowed long-time fans, as well as beginners of Milligan’s work to really dig into his films and have the chance to see them looking better than they probably ever have. I know I have watched about a half dozen of the titles so far and have not been disappointed. Yeah, they are low budget, and often like watching a school play being filmed, but I was always entertained by the passion they had.

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Halfway to Halloween at Sulzers!

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Aaron Christensen and I will be back at the Sulzer Region Library next Tuesday with a one lecture on Family Fun Frights! This is for those family and friends that kind of like horror but might get a little too scared to watch any “serious” frightening flicks? Well, we’re going to cover a bunch of films, in a range of “scariness”, starting with some for all ages and then move up in the fear factor, but never going too extreme. Whether it’s for your own kids, or even yourself, we discuss a wide range of titles that are perfect for all year round, but especially during that Halloween season. While we will be covering some titles for a younger audience in the beginning, it will move into some more scarier titles, so the event is listed as 18 years and over.

The event is located at 4455 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago IL, 60625, going from 6:30pm to 8pm. For all the info, just click HERE to get to the library’s event calendar. Hope to see you there!

Mystery Photo 4-14

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Almost halfway through April. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not. But I guess we still need to focus on the good out there, no matter what. It just seems to be getting harder to do that. So hopefully this little pictorial puzzle will give you a few seconds of a break from reality! But first, let’s review last week. It was from the 1981 film Evilspeak, back when you could contact the evil forces from your computer! Boy . . . if they only knew how true that would be. Congrats to the following for sending in the correct answer, and there was a lot of you: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Mike Benedict, Chris Dyer, Dave Friedman, Kevin Hart, Bob Hartman, Christopher Highland, Ken Johnson, Steven Kennedy, Joel Kolsrud, Erik Martin, Jeff Owens, Michael Pniewski, and Brandon Trokey. Nice to know that movie still is remembered fondly!

Here’s this week’s photo. Take a look and see if you can pick where this shot is from! Just remember to send you answer to me, at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. And most of all, keep those positive thoughts going and good luck!

Mystery Photo 4-7

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Welcome to April! We’re 2 shows into our Convention World Tour, and so far, it’s been a pretty fun time! Let’s hope that continues. Our last photo was from Leprechaun: Origins (2014), which is you can get past the fact that he looks like younger creature from The Descent (2005), it’s really not a bad film. Kudos to Mike Benedict, Kevin Hart, and Erik Martin for sending in the correct answer! Well done.

This week’s photo is a little different, so let’s see if anybody can pick up what movie it is from. Just remember to send me your guess in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Grindhouse Releasing Goes into The Beyond 4K!

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“Woe be unto him who opens one of the seven gateways to Hell,
because through that gateway, evil will invade the world.”

It looks like Grindhouse Releasing will be opening that gateway once again, with their new special edition of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond (1981). And this looks to be one amazing release that all Fulci fans are going to want to have.

This new “Super-Deluxe” collector’s edition will come with 6 discs: 1 UHD, 3 Blu-Rays, 1 DVD, and 1 CD. The UHD is from a new 4K scan from the original Techniscope camera negative. Besides that, there will be The Beyond: The Composer’s Cut, featuring a new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround sound remix and an all-new reimagined score created by original composer Fabio Frizzi, mixed Jussi Tegelman.

This will have 3 different audio commentaries, 1 from cinematographer Sergio Salvati, 1 from makeup artist Giannetto De Rossi, and then 1 from actors David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl. Some of these have already left us, so it is so great to be able to keep their memories of working on the film alive.

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Last Shark Surfaces on Blu-Ray

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One of the greatest shark movies to ever completely rip-off Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film Jaws, and still be one of the most entertaining ones, is finally coming to Blu-ray. Granted not here in the states, but if you have a region-free player (which you should), Treasured Films is putting out a nice new special edition with plenty of extras.

This film did get released here in the states but only for a short time before it was pulled because Universal Pictures sued the producers of The Last Shark stating that it had plagiarized their film, Jaws. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s obvious that a few things might have been “inspired” by the Spielberg film, especially with Vic Morrow’s character and his “floating chainsaw” comment, but it is crazy enough on its own, that I don’t think it would have hurt much of Universal’s business. When I worked at a theater back in the early ’80s, I remember putting up the poster for Great White (what it was going to be called here in the US) in the “Coming Soon” spot, but we never got it.

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Send Reggie Bannister Some Love

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Everyone’s favorite, 4-barrell gun-toting, evil dwarf killing Ice Cream Man needs your love right now! Reggie Bannister, star of the Phantasm series, as well as many other great movies, was diagnosed almost a decade ago, with dementia and Parkinson’s, and has done pretty well in battling those afflictions. But it seems things have not gotten better recently, and our beloved Ice Cream Man is heading home for Hospice Care. He’s still cognitive, which is a great thing, but his physical heath isn’t doing too well. What we Phans can do is show our appreciation of him and his work by sending him some love.

Below is the address for him and his wife Gigi. Take a few minutes, buy a little get-well card, or just send note saying how much his work has meant to you. And if you’ve ever had the opportunity to meet Reggie in person, I’m pretty sure that was one of the highlights of the show you were at, because Reggie always made every Phan coming up to him feel that special. You always walked away feeling like you now have a best new friend. That’s just how Reggie is. So, let’s show him how much he meant to us Phans. Let him know that he’s still remembered and more importantly, still loved by his Phans.

Let’s just flood this PO box with love for Reggie Bannister!

Reggie & Gigi Bannister
P.O. Box 4387
Crestline, CA 92325

Kudos to Demi Moore!

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During her speech after winning Best Actress at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards last Friday, actress Demi Moore gave praise to her director and co-stars, and her fellow nominees, but also commented on what this film really is saying about the industry, that I truly hope will help in the change that is desperately needed.

She commented on something else that I hope is going to change. She said “I am so grateful, not just for my performance but that you have highlighted this film, this genre. Normally horror films are overlooked and not seen for the profundity that they can hold.”

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Never Stop Digging

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I know I may sound like a broken record here, but you never know when something you write hits the right person at the right time. Plus, when it is something you really believe in, you want to keep saying it! Hammer recently announced they will be releasing a 4K release of their 1953 film Four-Sided Triangle, which is a science fiction tale, but has strong shades of the Frankenstein message, of just because we can do this . . . should we? Directed by Terence Fisher, the film is about two scientists develop a machine that can duplicate anything. Including a person. This was released on DVD age ago by Anchor Bay but now will be coming to us with a nice new 4K release.

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