Sam Sherman Speaks!

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I am shocked and amazed that I am just hearing about this new book and am eternally thankful to my friend Gavin Schmitt for putting it on my radar, which I quickly ordered!

So … not sure who Sam Sherman is? If you’ve ever seen any of the classic Al Adamson flicks, like Satan’s Sadist, Dracula vs Frankenstein, Blood of Ghastly Horror, or the Blood Island movies from the Philippines, such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island or Beast of Blood, then you at least know the work of Mr. Sherman. Or should I say, a small part of Sherman’s work. In the world of low-budget filmmaking, Sherman was involved in pretty much all aspects, especially when it came to promoting and distributing. He would help come up with the lurid titles, help with the ad campaign, and so much more.

Now, thanks to Murania Press, you’ll get to read all the juicy bits from his career, working with Independent International Pictures, Al Adamson, and much more. In this 378 page trade paperback book, you’ll read along as Sherman “revisits those halcyon days and reveals the behind-the-scenes story of IIP’s rise and fall.” But he also goes into the entire drive-in era, having to deal with independent producers and distributors, trying not to get ripped off, and all the other fun things you had to do when you were working well below the major studios.

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Richard Donner – Rest in Peace

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While director Richard Donner is mainly known for his big blockbuster films like Lethal Weapon series (1987-98), Goonies (1985), one of the best versions of Dickens’ story Scrooged (1988), there are a few other titles that made a strong impact on my life that he was responsible for. In 1978, he gave us the first REAL super-hero film with Superman that actually worked. But two years before that, he showed us that evil was alive and living amongst us in The Omen (1976), which still remains a powerful film even today, almost 50 years later.

But even before all of that, it was an episode of the TV show Ghost Story called The Concrete Captain that aired in September of 1972, that starred Stuart Whitman and Gena Rowlands, that I can still vividly remember watching as a 7-year-old kid, laying on my living room floor just being entranced by this little cheesy spooky story. Granted, at the time, I had no idea who the director was or whatever a director did. But I remembered that episode. It was a little later when I was able to catch one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, catching a rerun of it. It was Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, starring William Shatner. That was enough to give anybody nightmares, especially if you were going to be on a plane at night! Both of those episodes were directed by Richard Donner.

Donner passed away yesterday at the age of 91. For someone that did work on the big Hollywood films, he still made some damn fine entertainment, no matter what genre he worked in. His talent will be dearly missed, but thankfully we still have all the incredible films that he has left us. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.

Thank you, Mr. Donner, for showing us that a man really could fly.

Peveril Publishing Update – More Hammer!

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First news is that their latest book, The Hammer Vampire Scrapbook, is now available to order. There are only 700 copies being printed so when those are gone, it’s gone! So make sure you order your copy now if you’re interested. Yes, they are a bit pricy, especially if you’re having them mailed over here to the States. But since I have copies of all of their books in my own library, I can honestly say they are worth every penny spent. They are lavishly produced and look amazing, not to mention all the incredible content within the pages. Really a must for any serious Hammer fan. Just click HERE to order your copy now.

But wait! There’s more! While Mr. Kinsey stated that the next entry in their Scrapbook series will be on the Karnstein films, he is also working on the next volume in his Fantastic Films of the Decades series, Vol. 4 – 1940s Part 2: 1944-1949, he stated in his last email update that he is working on a 3 volume set called The House that Hammer Built, which will cover the complete Carreras years, from 1935 to 1979. According to Kinsey, this will be “my own personal definitive Hammer work, a chronological journey through Hammer’s history looking at all of their films during this period, so will be finally covering the early Exclusive films as well as Journey to the Unknown and un-filmed projects, with new research and bringing together info from my previous Hammer books.”

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Mystery Photo 7-5

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Welcome to another Monday, and a new month of Mystery Photos! Since the 4th was yesterday, I thought I might as well throw in a little tribute to one of my favorites of all time, and the first real summer blockbuster, the one and only Jaws. So no, this shot is not from that film but one of the many rip … I mean “inspired from” titles. Since there are so many, I figured it still might be a little tough to figure out which one. Unless of course, you’ve seen it already. Or you’re one of those doing a internet image search, but that would be cheating so I know you’re not doing that. Right???

But before I forget, let’s get to last week’s photo. It was from The Final Terror (1983), one of the better slashers to come out from woods during that era. Great cast and a lot of fun. Kudos to Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Christopher Dyer, Kevin Hart, and Erik Martin for sending in the correct answer.

Okay, check out the pic below and see what you can come up with. Just remember to send your answer to us throw email (that way I don’t lose it!) at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

Love and Support to Reggie!

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I’m sure everyone out there knows Reggie Bannister, the best and baddest quad-barrel shotgun carrying, dwarf killer, guitar playing, Ice Cream Man around, from the Phantasm series. And if you’ve been lucky enough to meet Reggie at a convention over the last 30 years, then you know just how damn friendly he is. You always walk away from his table thinking you’ve just made a new best friend. Funny thing is that is just how Reggie is.

I first met Reggie at a Chiller show back in ’95, and shortly after that, he came out to my hometown to record an album (never saw that happening in a million years), so through a mutual friend, I got to hang out with him several times when he was here. In all my years of conventions and meeting my movie heroes, I’ve never met someone who is more down to earth and honest than Reggie Bannister. Really. Just the nicest and coolest guy you’d ever want to meet. The planet needs more people like Reggie Bannister.

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Chattanooga Film Fest Report

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This was my first time attending a real film festival that I was able to make it for more than a couple of movies, even though it was still a virtual fest with all the screenings online. Better than nothing these days, right? Big thanks to my friend Neil Calderone for putting this on my radar because over six days, I’ve watched nine features and eight short films and found no disappointments in any of them. Sure, there were some I enjoyed more than others, but they were still all very entertaining and I’m glad I got to see them.

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Kryptic Army Mission: July 2021 – Reading is Fundamental!

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One of the things that I’m always preaching here is to open up your comfort zone to different types of movies. I know to most of you reading this, I’m probably preaching to the choir, but there are newer fans to the genre, or film in general that don’t care for subtitles. “I want to watch a movie, not read it!” is the best response that I’ve gotten over the years. But the funny thing is that the more subtitled movies you watch, the faster you read them, to the point where you’re not even reading them but just glancing at the words at the bottom of the screen and your brain does the rest. True story. Well, at least I believe it. But it will get easier.

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Movie Review: Caveat (2020)

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(2020)
Directed by Damian Mc Carthy
Starring Jonathan French, Leila Sykes, Ben Caplan, Conor Dwane

A man who had recently suffered from an accident causing some memory lost, is hired by a friend to watch over his recently orphaned niece for a week, who by the way has some mental issues. Did I mention that the house is on a secluded island? And that because of her bouts of paranoia, the guy must wear a leather vest that is on a chained leash? While I was watching this, I even said out loud, “there’s no way you’d get me to put that vest on”, but if you can get past that obvious hurdle that most people would walk away from, then the rest of the movie will be worth it.

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A Pictorial History of Hammer Horror

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The time is now! You can now order your copy of the latest book from the fine folks of We Belong Dead, this time tackling all things Hammer! The book, A Pictorial History of Hammer Horror is over 450 pages, in full color, with essays on every Hammer horror title from The Mystery of Mary Celeste (1935) all the way to The Lodge (2019). Just like their previous publications, this one is packed with rare photos, posters, and lobby cards from all over the world.

The book is available in both hardcover and softcover. But if you’re ordering from here in the US, when you add in the postage, it is a bit pricy. For the hardcovers, it is £45, which is about $62, and the softcover edition is £35, which is about $45.50. Throw in $40 to $50 for postage, it does make for one expensive book. But here is the thing, I’m guessing that like a lot of their books, they go out of print rather quickly and will be a nice collector’s item, especially since is on Hammer Films. But more important than that, it is a pretty nice size book with a ton of essays about one of our favorite film studios and the films they produced. So while this might a great investment, and will be well worth the price, the real key is to read and learn more about one of our favorite British film production companies. Because at the end of the day, that is the purpose for any book, to educate and entertain. Can’t wait for my copy to arrive!

For all the information and how to order, just click HERE.

Mystery Photo 6-28

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I must be getting soft in my old age and using too many easy photos! This was another week where we got a lot of correct answers. Although, since this is a classic title from the genre, I’m always thrilled when people recognize it because it means we know our history! The film is the 1945 British film Dead of Night, usually known for the segment about the ventriloquist dummy, so kudos to the following for knowing another segment: Dave Fronto, Kevin Hart, Troy Howarth, Erik Martin, Gary McGuire, Charles Miller, Bryan Senn, Vincent Simonelli, and Greg Wojick. Well done!

So this week’s photo is a little more modern but I’m sure will have a lot of different guesses because it really could be from a dozen or some titles. So take a good look and see if you can figure out the correct one! Just send us an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com or simply click HERE.