Mystery Photo 8-17

Sorry again for the late posting again, but just couldn’t manage to get it ready to go over the weekend. Seems more and more we wait for the weekend, counting down the days, only to find out at the end of it, you didn’t get squat done! And here we are, starting all over again. Ugh.

Anyway, enough whining. I was thrilled to see so many people send in the correct answers last week. It was from Tobe Hooper’s 1976 film Eaten Alive, with such an amazing cast.  I mean, how could a movie NOT be entertaining when you have these names in there: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, William Finley, Stuart Whitman, Kyle Richars, and of course, Robert Englund in one of his earlier roles! Here’s all the ones that sent it in: Hoby Abernathy, Gregory Avery, Todd Barwick, Wendy Bodine, Aaron Christensen, Chris Dyer, Kevin Hart, Christopher Highland, Troy Howarth, Martin Meeks, Lee Nattrass, Tim Palace, James Schmeichel, Bryan Senn, Michael Shields, Gert Verbeeck, Todd Warren, and William Wilson. Well done!

Okay, this week’s photo might be a little tougher. Okay, maybe a LOT tougher. But after throwing you a bone with last week’s photo, I figured I’d make you work for it. As always, just send your answer to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck!

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Interview: Bloody Hammers

Bloody Hammers banner 1

A few years ago, I had gotten sucked into the YouTube black hole, looking for a music video, then getting sidetracked seemingly for hours, checking out different bands and such. It was on one of these excursions, that I stumbled across a video for a song called The Town that Dreaded Sundown. I clicked on it, wondering if it had anything to do with the movie. It did. What I didn’t expect was the sound and style of music. The band was called Bloody Hammers, and I quickly started to check out some of their other videos, like for Death Does Us Part. They do an amazing job not really fitting into one particular musical style. Part hard rock, gothic, maybe even a little doom metal, but it had a very unique sound and it grabbed me right away. I quickly ordered a couple of their CDs and immediately became entranced them. I found it interesting, that like The Misfits, they had a lot of song titles taken from horror movies titles, but other than the previously mentioned Sundown, they didn’t have anything to do with the actual movie. Nonetheless, there was something deep in the lyrics, sometimes like poetry laid in between this heavy sound, that really made a connection with me. Continue reading

Horror History: Dean Cundey

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Dean Cundey
Born: March 12th, 1946

If you are a fan of horror movies from the ’70s and ’80s, then you just might have seen Cundey’s work. If you’re a fan of the early works of John Carpenter’s, such as Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and The Thing (1982), then you definitely know his work, as well as his talent! Cundey is now one of the top rated cinematographers in the business. But before all of that, he was working quite often in the horror genre, shooting some classic titles and making them look better than they ever should have.

Just look at his early resume and you’ll see a lot of favorites listed there, such as The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976), Creature from Black Lake (1976), Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976), Satan’s Cheerleaders (1977), Without Warning (1980), Jaws of Satan (1981), and the list goes on. But it probably his work with Carpenter that he is most known for, making five pictures with him, which now are all considered essential titles in the genre.

So even while he may have gone on to work more in the bigger budgeted Hollywood films, we owe this man a lot of thanks for the way that some of these great films looked.

Mystery Photo 8-10

It’s been a long and busy week. Hence the lack of updates recently. Been preoccupied with a project but hopefully the brunt of that is over and I can get back to here on a more regular basis. We’ll see. But for now, let’s get to the topic at hand. Last week’s photo was from Ghost Town (1988). I would always see that sitting on the shelve, no matter what video store I was in. A nice memory from a time long gone. Kudos to the following that did send in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Aaron Christensen, Dave Fronto, Brian Fukala, Christopher Highland, Neil Kloster, Lee Nattrass, Michael Shields, Gert Verbeeck, and William Wilson. Always nice to see that many names.

Let’s see if we get that many, or even more, from this shot. Take a peek and see if you recognize where this little tourist trap is from. Just send your answer to us in an email (jon@kitleyskrypt.com). Good Luck!

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Discover the Horror … on eBay

I came across this the other day and found it pretty amusing. Here is a seller listing copies of my book for $34.95. I guess I should feel honored that someone thinks the book is worth almost twice as much as it was when it was first published. But instead I find it both sad and funny, because not only is it still available on Amazon for $20, you could also ordered it directly from me, and I’d even sign it for you, free of charge!

DtH on ebay

Continue reading

Mystery Photo 8-3-20

A little late today, but better late than not at all, right? Busy weekend, once again, but we survived, so that’s what’s important. So… last week’s photo was from the film Beyond Evil (1980), which starred the late great John Saxon. Sorry to say, it wasn’t Mausoleum, that had more than a few people send in, but I can totally see the similarities, so no worries. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Aaron Christensen, Brian Doering, Peggy Christie, Christopher Dyer, Tim Palace, Michael Shields, and William Wilson.

On to this week’s mystery pic… might be an easy one, especially for those that grew up in the video stores in the late ’80s / early 90s. Take a peek and see what you can come up with. Just send us an email (jon@kitleyskrypt.com) with your guess. Good luck.

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Wilfred Brimley – Rest in Peace

Wilfred Brimley - RIPThe film industry has lost another true and great talent with the passing of Wilfred Brimley. While he only appeared in a few horror films, if I saw his name in the opening credits, I knew he was going to be interesting to watch. I think I first became aware of him in the Paul Newman film Absence of Malice (1981) because that played at the theater I worked at. So while it wasn’t a film I would normally see, I got to see a lot of it during the working hours, so I remembered his character. And then came John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). It threw me for a bit with him without his mustache, but his voice is just as recognizable as this facial hair. As well as his incredible performances. In 1985, he appeared in another favorite of mine, Remo Williams, which I was so bummed they never made more of those. Continue reading

August Kryptic Army Mission – 55 to 65!

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This month, I will be turning 55 years old, getting even closer to really earn the moniker of “old man Kitley”. This means that I was born in 1965, and since I’m turning 55, I thought I would go with something a little easier for this month’s mission, but also help you dig a little deeper into the genre’s history.

Your mission is to find 2 horror films that you haven’t seen, that came out between the years 1955 and 1965. You have a whole decade to peruse to find a couple of titles to chose from. From all the old giant monster movies of the last part of the ’50s, to the birth of Hammer, and rise of the Italian horror films, you should have plenty to chose from. On a side note, if you’re wondering if one of those sci-fi films from the late ’50s, with some sort of monster or threat terrorizing the country, would count as a horror film, the answer is yes. Because we all know that Sci-Fi isn’t really a genre, right?

So you have until 11:59pm on August 31st to find, watch, and then report back your findings. Don’t take too long… time flies these days so don’t let it sneak up on you!

Friday Favorite: Mario Bava

Mario Bava Favorite

This Friday, we’re going to talk about one of the most amazing Italian directors in our movie history. One that truly painted the screen with color, even if it was in black and white. Today, we celebrate the birthday of the late, great Mario Bava. Even before he was “officially” directing, he gave us incredible looking films, such as I, Vampiri (1957) and Caltiki, The Immortal Monster (1959). When he finally took the director’s chair, we were even more of a treat, with a stunning debut with Black Sunday (1960), then giving the world the first real giallo film with The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963). When he moved to color films, he showed them like we’d never seen before, with some much style, with Blood and Black Lace (1964) being a perfect example. Even in Planet of the Vampires (1965), which may seem a bit cheesy now, the look of it is incredible, not to mention giving a little blueprint for the future creators of Alien (1979). Continue reading