Category Archives: Misc. Ramblings

Movie Plans for 2024?

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While I know we might be a little preoccupied with the upcoming holiday in a couple of days, or any end of year celebrations, but since it is also close to the start of a new year, has anybody thought of taking on a little movie challenge? One of the things that I hear some fans doing, which I have done myself, is to make a little checklist of a particular film series, or maybe a bunch from one director, or even a particular sub-genre, and make your way through them during the next year. There’s no time limit (unless you want to set it for yourself) other than trying to get them through within those 12 months.

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Back from the Dead

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Just in case you did notice, the Krypt had been down for a few days while we were moving the domain over. Took a little longer than expected, but everything seems to be working just find now. Let’s just hope it continues that way!

In the meantime, we’ll have our new Mystery Photo posted on Monday, so for those that hadn’t sent in their guess, you have a few more days left.

As we get to the last couple of weeks before the end of the year, I’m still working on my Year End Review, and have a lot to cover! While I didn’t get nowhere near as many books read as I expected, I did knock out quite a few movies, and a lot more newer ones than I usually do too!

And if you’re still doing some holiday shopping, may I suggest maybe putting some of those dollars to a local artist or author. Not only does this help them with their endeavors, but also shows them that their work has meaning. Of course, I’m always one to suggest giving a book for a gift, because that is one that gives the gift of knowledge, or if its fiction, then you’ve given the gift of an escape into another world. Sometimes we all need that every now and then.

Okay, just wanted to post a little update to let you know what was going on here at the Krypt. Until then, Merry Cthulhumas!

The Exorcist at 58

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Yes, I know The Exorcist is 50 years old, not 58. But I am 58 and I see this film much differently than when I originally did in my younger years.

Last weekend, I had the chance to see a rare screening of the original theatrical version, from a 35mm print, on the big screen, at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. This place really knows and appreciates the importance of such a screening and I’m thankful to be close enough to take advantage of them. And seeing a huge line down the block for this once again made the blackened heart inside this old horror fan swell. Seeing it in a crowded theater really makes the power of the film hit a little harder than watching it at home.

The reason this was a rare screening was that since 1999, the only version the studio rents out for screenings is the extended version, which they call “The Version You’ve Never Seen Before”. I saw it in the theater when it was released and aside from seeing some extra footage, I didn’t care for it as a whole. Now, I refer to it as either “The Version I’ll Never Watch Again”, or more simply the “Where’s Waldo” version, mainly because instead of using the image of Capt. Howdy’s face a couple of times in the film, the longer cut seems to stick it EVERYWHERE! Plus, there are just sequences, such as the famous spider walking scene, that while they are cool to see, I don’t feel they really don’t fit in the film.

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What Am I Thankful For?

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It is around this time of the year that I do try to really put some thought into what I’m thankful for. It is a shame that we have to wait until November to dwell upon that question and not every single day. Because that thankfulness should be there throughout the year. But I guess with this holiday, it is a reminder that we should take a minute at least to reflect. Honestly, this year, it has never been easier for me.

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Beast from Haunted Cave Released by Film Masters

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Not sure when I first came across Beast from Haunted Cave, but when I had learned it was filmed in South Dakota, my birth state, and it was a low budget monster flick, I was in. We’ve reviewed the film previously here on the Krypt (just click HERE), but recently Film Masters have put it out on Blu-ray, along with in a double feature disc, so we wanted to mention it here again.

Bottom line is that if you like those low budget monster flicks, and unusual ones at that, then you can’t pass up this new release from Film Masters. Not only does the print look great, being a newly restored 4K scan from 35mm archival material, but you get a bunch of extras, including an early Roger Corman feature called Ski Troop Attack, which was an early WWII drama using the same locations that were used in Beast. This is a great example of what Corman was doing with very little money, a small cast, but making it work to put out an entertaining little film.

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20th Anniversary of Turkey Day Coming

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Can you believe that it has been 20 years since I made the crazy decision to spend all of Black Friday watching some of the finest in cinematic shipwrecks? And what’s even crazier, is that now I am not alone in that celebrating. While it did start by myself in 2003, once we got to 2010, the number of people joining in had grew, as well as the number of films we’d get through. While we started with 4 or 5 titles, once we hit 7 features, it seemed that was the standard going forward. I think our record of attendees was at 14 or 15 people. To think back of when I started this idea, and then jump ahead two decades and realize that not only am I still doing it, but that a trusted group of people join me each and every time for this insane celebration.

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History Hunt in the Land of Rebane!

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Last October, we traveled 5 hours up north to Merrill, Wisconsin, for the opening of a Bill Rebane Museum at the Merrill Historical Society, which we reported on HERE. There was talk of some directions to some of the filming sites of some of his movies, since he pretty much stayed in and around Gleason, Wisconsin, which is where his Shooting Ranch film studio was located, but it just never happened. Fast forward almost a year, and Brandon Johnson, the man behind the exhibit, lets me know that they are planning sort of a Bill Rebane scavenger hunt, called the 2023 Merrill Historical Society History Hunt, where teams will be given sort of a scavenger hunt map to visit different locations, and even interact with people that worked either on the films, or were in some way part of them. Without putting much thought into it, I sent out the emails to those that joined me last time and see if they’d be up for it again, which they all agreed!

So, Aaron Christensen and I left my house at 4:15am on Saturday the 9th, drove about 90 minutes just outside of Milwaukee to pick up Dave Kosanke, and then drove another 3+ hours further north into Merrill, getting there around 9:30am, meeting up our last team member, Gavin Schmitt.

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More Naschy Blu-Ray!

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What could make the month of October even better? The announcement from Mondo Macabro that they are releasing another Naschy film in 4K & Blu-Ray! Going on sale tomorrow as part of their Flash Pre-Sale, you’ll be able to order the 2-disc special edition of Dr. Jekyll and the Werewolf!

Now just so everyone knows up front, there were several of Naschy films (and Spanish horror films in general) where they would film one scene with nudity, then film it again with them clothed. This title is one of those, and as hard as they tried, after searching for close to a year, they could not locate the film material for the export version, which has the nudity. They only had the Spanish “clothed” cut of the film. So, they were able to add the inserts to it to create the uncut version, but this will only be on the Blu-ray disc of the film, where the UHD disc will have the Spanish “clothed” version.

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25 Years of the Krypt!

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That’s right. One quarter of a century, sitting here at the Krypt, plugging away, always with the goal of helping other fans discover more of this wonderful thing we call the horror movie genre. When I started, the Krypt was little more than posts about DVD releases, an occasional movie review, and maybe even some movie news, but always trying to put my own personal spin on it, as opposed to just copying and pasting news from other sites.

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Return of the Terror Tuesdays!

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Once again, the Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago has asked me and my partner-in-crime, Aaron Christensen (aka Horror 101 with Dr. AC) back for another 4 weeks of lectures, with the first one starting Tuesday, October. 3rd. This year, each week we will be tackling directors that are known for their contributions to the horror genre throughout the decades. The first Tuesday, we’ll be going over directors from the 1920s through the 1960s, such as names like Tod Browning to Terence Fisher. The second Tuesday, October 10th, we’ll be discussing directors from the 1970s and 1980s, from Al Adamson to David Cronenberg. Next up, on Tuesday, October. 17th, we’ll cover directors from the 1990s to the current date, with names like David Bruckner to Peter Jackson. And the final lecture, on Tuesday, October 24th, will be on the makeup masters. People like Roy Ashton, Jack Pierce, to Chris Walas, these are the ones that have created some of the cinematic nightmares that we’ve enjoyed over the years!

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