Rest in Peace: Hilary Dwyer & Honor Blackman

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The horror genre lost two actresses that only made a few appearances in the genre but still made an impact.

Honor Blackman, probably best known for her role as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964), as well as in the Avengers TV series, she did appear in a few horror films, such as the underrated Fright (1971), starring a young Susan George, Hammer’s To the Devil a Daughter (1976), and even in the more recent Cockneys vs Zombies (2012), which I was amazed how entertaining that one actually was! Blackman passed away on April 5th at the age of 94.

Hilary (Heath) Dwyer appeared in even fewer horror films, all appearing alongside Vincent Price! Her first role was in Witchfinder General (1968), where she runs up against Price as the evil Matthew Hopkins. She then appeared with Price again in The Oblong Box (1969) and Cry of the Banshee (1970). She left acting to start a talent agency and then into producing. She passed away last week due to complications with Covid-19.

Two familiar faces that will always be kept alive and remembered because of their work in these films. Our thoughts go out to their friends and family during this difficult times.

Book Review: American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography

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American International Pictures FilmographyAmerican International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography
Published by McFarland, 2019. 451 pages.
By Rob Craig

I was a little apprehensive on tackling this book for review, mainly because I had already reviewed two previous volumes of Craig’s work and found them written a little above the subject. By that I mean he seemed to find a lot of subtext in some low budget features that I personally don’t think were ever there. But that is just a difference of opinion, and I hoped with his latest book on AIP films, it would be a little different. And it was. For the most part.

If you are a fan of American International Pictures, then simply put, this book is a must. It covers over 800 feature films, television series, and TV specials that were from AIP or under one of their many partners. It is an A to Z filmography, covering titles that are very familiar to ones that you might never of heard of. One of the things I really liked about this volume is that each film has a brief synopsis, usually taken from a pressbook, and that’s it when it comes to the plot. This leaves the story left open for the viewer to really discover instead of the author laying it out play-by-play style when that can lead the reader not even to bother with it! The beauty lies in everything the author writes about after the synopsis, with plenty of little informational tidbits and trivia. Continue reading →

Soundtrack Review: VFW

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VFW SoundtrackFW
Released by Lakeshore Records, 2020
27 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 73 min.
Music By Steve Moore

Much like Jeff Grace’s score for Cold in July, if you’re a fan of John Carpenter’s music, then this score is a must. Since the film VFW is a homage to Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), it only makes sense to have a score that feels like a Carpenter score. And composer Steve Moore has done just that. Using simple tones and those repetitive notes similar to Carpenter, he has created an effective score that has all the feeling of something from the late ’70s to early ’80s that a lot of grew up with.

We have tracks like Montage which kind of just plays in the background, setting the tone nicely. Nothing loud or over the top, but sets the mood. Then with the next tracks like Do What You Gotta Do and Run Lizard Run, the tension starts to build. In between these more up tempo sequences, it goes back down to the slow and moody set pieces.

Moore has created a very simple and yet very effective score that works really well within the film, but is also a great one to have playing in the background. It really helped making this film the homage that it is even more so.

Mystery Photo 4-6

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Welcome to April. It seems that there could be a lot of April Fool’s jokes going on, but unfortunately, what is going on is no joke. I hope everyone out there is taking precautions to make them and their loved ones safe. We’ll get through this. It will take some time, but we’ll make it. Maybe it will just appreciate what we do have a little more when all is said and done. Okay… let’s get back to keeping our minds on something positive! Our photo from last week was from the 2017 film Pyewacket and yes, that is Laurie Holden, definitely seeing better days. The only correct answer we got was from Kristin Wicks, so kudos goes out to her!

For this week’s photo, we’re going back to black and white. So take a look and see if you recognize what is going on in this shot and what movie it is from. Just sent us an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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What’s Your Favorite…Turkey!

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giantclaw

Followers of this site know of my bi-annual tradition of the Turkey Day Marathon, which is always a lot of fun. There really is something to be said about a film that might have tried so hard to be good, but just missed the bullseye. Or in some cases the dart board entirely! But as I’ve always said, if we’re still entertained, then it can’t be a bad movie. Now these aren’t movies that just terrible, but ones that you actually do love to watch. Over nearly two decades, we’ve been watching a lot of Turkeys during those events, not to mention the ones that we watch on a regular basis, and they never lose their charm.

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So… let’s hear some of your favorite Turkeys? Would it be Robot Monster? The classic Ed Wood epic Plan 9 from Outer Space? Maybe sometime a little more modern day, perhaps? For me, a lot of these films seem to bring back my childhood, making me feel like a little kid again amazed at what I’m seeing on the screen. The floor is now yours to stand proudly and say “MY FAVORITE TURKEY IS….. AND I LOVE IT! 

April Kryptic Army Mission: Mad Scientists

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mad scientist 2

Science is the one truth in today’s world, now more than ever. It is these scientists in the medical world today that are struggling to help society battle this latest virus that is causing havoc around the world. But as we all know, sometimes these geniuses can lose their way down the path of discovery, maybe stumbling across some secret that they deem is important, sometimes at the cost of others. This cost could be the lives of others, or maybe just their sanity! Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Legend of Hell House (1973)

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LoHH Banner

Directed by John Hough
Starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowell, Clive Revill, and Gale Hunnicutt, and Michael Gough

Strange that I have never reviewed this on here since it is one of my favorite haunted house movies of all time. This has been a constant battle with me, between this one and Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963) for the top spot, but Hell House usually comes in second. This was also the very first VHS tapes I rented after buying my first VCR. I don’t remember when exactly was the first time I saw this, probably around the same time I saw The Haunting for the first time, thanks to my future wife, Dawn, and her mother. But I know I immediately fell in love with it. Continue reading →

Mystery Photo 3-30

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Welcome to our last Mystery Photo of March of 2020. A lot has happened even since our last photo, but we’re hoping these bring you a little bit of distraction. Our last photo was definitely a tough one, since we only got one correct answer and that was from Hoby Abernathy. It is from an obscure title called Sfida al Diavolo (1963), which translates to Challenge of the Devil. If you’re looking for it on IMDB, it is under the title Katarsis. It actually stars Christopher Lee in a minor but pivotal role. I’m not sure I would suggest anybody run out and find a copy unless you are a die-hard Lee fan and need to see it.

I think this week’s photo will be a little easier. Well… maybe. So take a look below and see what you can come up with. Just send your answers to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Book Review: Terrifying Texts

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Terrifying TextsTerrifying Texts: Essays on Books of Good and Evil in Horror Cinema
Published McFarland, 2018. 268 pages.
Edited by Cynthia J. Miller & A. Bowdoin Van Riper

When I came across this title, I was immediately intrigued by it because, strangely enough, I didn’t know of anybody else who had tackled this subject matter before. In fact, the more I read through it, I was amazed at that fact because there are more movies that deal with this subject that I had thought. It’s one of those that as you’re reading and they mention another movie, you immediately think “Oh yeah… I forgot about that one!” Needless today, I really enjoyed this one!

As a book person myself, this had me right from the opening Introduction, where it reads, “Books are revered – and feared – for their ability to affect the minds and hearts of humankind. We collect them, pore over them, commit their passages to memory, censor them, and even attempt to banish them from our midst, lest they lead us to ruin.” Any book lover is going to be nodding their head while reading that, knowing and agreeing with exactly what the authors are saying… or writing, technically. Continue reading →

What’s Your Favorite…Zombies!

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NotLD1

For today’s favorite question, we’re going with something more traditional. Zombie films are extremely popular and there are so many really good ones, maybe it might be tough to chose a favorite. Maybe this will help a little bit.

This is what I’m classifying as a zombie film: they must be the living dead. They don’t have to be flesh eaters, but they must be the dead. Simple enough? Will everyone be picking Night of the Living Dead? Dawn of the Dead? Fulci’s Zombie? Or is your favorite a little more obscure? So let’s hear from you in the comment section below.