Horror scholar David J. Skal has a new book coming out this fall, just in time for Halloween, entitled Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond. Presented by Turner Classic Movies, Skal takes on 31 films ranging from the silent era, hitting a few titles from each decade through the ’80s, and a few beyond that. Most of these everyone will agree are classics, with a few comedies listed in the later day titles. The description in Amazon says they are “family-friendly” but not sure The Exorcist (1973) and The Thing (1982) are ones I would be screening for 8-year old Timmy! Continue reading
Horror Fans Rejoice at the Midway Drive-In
We normally do 8 or 9 conventions, or some other event like a 24-hour marathon, throughout the year. Of course, with all the current events, those have all been cancelled or rescheduled to next year, or at least they have so far. We’ll see how the rest of the year plays out, but I’m honestly not expecting much. So when the Midway Drive-In announced they were going to have a 2-day event, with Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell appearing both days, screening the Evil Dead trilogy, along with two other features, as well as having some vendors there, we knew we had to be part of that. Friday, July 10th, they would be screening Evil Dead 2 (1987) and then Army of Darkness (1993). On Saturday the 11th, they would be screening Evil Dead (1981) with a 4K restoration with new sound mix and score by original composer Joseph LoDuca, The Beyond (1981), and finally I Drink Your Blood (1970). Not only would there be horror vendors and raffles, but Mr. Campbell would doing a Q&A before the features. It would also be a chance for fans to have some sort of a convention or event to head out to and have fun. And that is exactly what happened. Continue reading
Mystery Photo 7-13
It looks like I stump everyone with last week’s photo. Don’t feel bad. I had never heard of it before either, until I stumbled across it. The shot is from a 1975 Spanish film called El colegio de la muerte, or School of Death. It’s an oddity, that is for sure. Not sure I would recommend anyone rush out and find a copy, but if you love Spanish horror, especially from the ’70s, you could do worse.
I’m sure with this week’s photo, we’ll get a few correct answers sent in. Just a hunch. So take a look, ponder it a bit, enjoy the atmosphere in there, and then send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck!
Horror History: Jack Davis
Jack Davis
Born Dec. 2nd, 1924 – Died Dec. 2nd, 2016
While Davis might not have worked hardly at all with the movie industry, he was an accomplished illustrator and cartoonist who’s work would inspire many horror fans and filmmakers for years to come. While he did do a lot of work for Mad Magazine, it was the art he did for the horror comics that William Gaines put out in the early ’50s that inspired future horror fans.
After being turned down by several other comic book companies, he went over to E.C. Comics, met up with owner William Gaines and company and was hired. He would work on their most famous titles, like Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, as well as the rest of the E.C. titles. His artwork was incredible and set the standards for a lot of upcoming talent. He was also one of the fastest artists, according to Gaines, completely penciling and inking 3 pages a day at times.
Davis did work on a few movie posters, most notably for horror fans was the one he did for Horror Hotel (1960), as well as designing some of the characters for Rankin/Bass’ Mad Monster Party? (1967). Davis was one of those artists who’s work inspired so many people, and not just fellow artists, but little budding horror fans that would devour his comics, even to this day.
Friday Favorites: Hitchcock!
This Friday we’re going to talk about the one of the greatest directors that ever said “Action!” The one and only Alfred Hitchcock. Unlike most fans, my first introduction to him wasn’t any of his films, but his television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. But once it came to movies, Psycho was definitely the one I remember as being one of the first, if not the first. But way before we were introduced to Norman and his domineering mother, Hitchcock gave us so many great titles, from The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 and then remade in 1956), Lifeboat (1944), Rope (1948), I Confess (1953), Rear Window (1954), and so many more.
So for this Friday Favorites, let us hear what yours is from our friend Sir Alfred.
Movie Review: Curse of the Living Corpse
The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964)
Directed by Del Tenney
Starring Helen Warren, Roy Scheider, Margot Hartman, Robert Milli, Hugh Franklin, Candace Hilligoss, Dino Narizzano
It’s funny sometimes how we discover different films that have either been hidden over the years, ones that you might not have heard of, or ones that simply come out with little or no fanfare and seem to slip away into obscurity. This film is a perfect example of this. Back in 2006, Dark Sky Films released Del Tenney’s more famous title The Horror of Party Beach on DVD. One of the special features was the inclusion of this title, which was originally released on a double bill with Horror back in 1964. The film stars Roy Scheider in his first feature film appearance so you’d think it would get more attention, but not so much. To say that Curse is a better film than Horror is really comparing apples to oranges. Or maybe hot dogs to steak. But I will say that it one that needs to be seen. Continue reading
Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema
While there are a few books previously on Terence Fisher, from authors like Peter Hutchings, Paul Leggett, and Wheeler Winston Dixon, I think it is still not enough coverage on this director, who’s name should be right up there with the likes of Romero, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Bava, Argento, and the rest of the horror elite. Now hopefully with this new book by Tony Dalton, Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, that will make the change.
Dalton has had full cooperation from Fisher’s family, making this a fully authorized biography of Mr. Fisher. Long before he started cranking out tales of Frankenstein and Dracula (and so much more) for Hammer Films, he had been working in film for quite some time, starting as a clapper boy and eventually moving into the editing department. Maybe now we can learn even more about this talented man and how he help change the face of horror.
FAB Press is taking pre-orders for a special signed hardcover edition of this book, for only £29.99 (approx. $37.50). The regular price is £39.99. Plus, by pre-ordering it is the only way to get the signed hardcover edition. A paperback edition will be released at a later day. This 480 page book, filled with 250 illustrations, won’t be published until next year, but I’m sure this limited edition hardcover edition won’t last long.
For more information, just click HERE.
Ennio Morricone – Rest in Peace
Wow. This one is a bitch to accept. Yes, the Maestro was 91, but for the hours and hours that I, as well as millions of other film lovers, have been entranced by his music, it still hurts. Even if we just talked about the scores he did for horror and giallo genres, from Dario Argento’s first trilogy of films, Fulci’s A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, Mario Caiano’s Nightmare Castle, Aldo Lado’s Short Night of Glass Dolls, to even John Carpenter’s The Thing, his scores always made an impact. That is not even getting into what he did for the western. Even if people didn’t know Morricone’s name or what movies he scored, if you started to play the opening theme from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, they would know it.
So when we read of the news yesterday morning of his passing, I immediately had the opening music from his score for Argento’s Phantom of the Opera in my head. I’ve always thought it was a beautiful and sad piece of music so it just kind of fit today.
There really isn’t much more I could say, other than thank you, Maestro, for the countless musical memories and emotions that you’re work has given us fans. Rest in Peace, and know that your legacy will live on for as long as people are watching movies.
Mystery Photo 7-6
Well we’ve made it through the first half of 2020. Should be all downhill from here on out, right? Granted, that downhill ride might just empty out into a busy highway, but what are the odds? A little late today but it is still Monday so it still counts, right?
Last week’s photo was from Ti West’s 2005 feature The Roost. For the budget, it’s a pretty damn entertaining movie and well worth checking out. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Craig Clark, Chris Dyer, Albert Gerber, and Lee Nattrass. Nicely done, folks!
Now onto this week’s photo. This is a little obscure one so let’s see how many can uncover this one! As always, just send us an email with your guess, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!
Soundtrack Review: Stake Land
Stake Land
Release in 2011, by Screamworks Records
26 Tracks with total running time of 48 min.
Music Composed by Jeff Grace.
To say this score is epic sounding is really an understatement. It starts off with a bang, and then proceeds to hit all the different notes. No pun intended. The film is about a post-apocalyptic world and this score gives us just that feeling. We get those feelings of being alone… down… desperate. We see a world where there just might not be any hope left, and Grace’s score accompanies that feeling perfectly. There are some action based themes or sequences in here, but mainly it is a slow and moody score, filled with wonderfully dark and brooding strings, often giving it a slight western feel to it.
There are action pieces in the score which work quite well in the film, and give the listener that same sense of excitement. But the overall score has a strange sense of sadness in the music throughout. Very somber. And yet, there are moments in here where with a few notes, Grace shows us a glimmer of hope. That shows how much of an emotional score this can be. The strings and piano used in the track Belle and the New Family or New Eden are perfect examples of that.
Ever since I heard this score, I’ve been checking out a lot of Grace’s work and have never been let down. An incredible talent that I look forward to with each and every film he’s worked on.
