Movie Review: The She-Beast

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(1966)
Directed by Michael Reeves
Starring Barbara Steele, Ian Ogilvy, John Karlsen, Mel Welles

This film has the honor of being the first movie from the young up-and-coming director Michael Reeves, who would only direct two more features, the last one being the incredible Witchfinder General, before dying of a supposed accidental overdose of barbiturates. The cinematic world lost something special that day.

The She-Beast has all the makings of a great gothic film. Filmed in a setting of a real town is better than anything Hollywood could have created. You have a pretty standard but effective story about a witch returning from the grave to make good on the curse she put on the town two centuries before. Plus, you have Italian horror icon Barbara Steele in the lead role. So how could you go wrong? Continue reading →

HorrorHound Approaches!

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Book Cover Art 22819Next weekend, we’ll be heading back to Indianapolis for the HorrorHound Weekend, which looks to be one massive gathering of horror fans! Taking place at the Indiana Convention Center, this one looks like it will be HorrorHound’s biggest show yet! With an incredible lineup of guests, tons of different dealers, as well as Mask-Fest, it is going to be a horror fans dream come true.

For the latest info, such a complete guest and vendor list, head over to their website HERE.

We will be set up there as usual, with our booths being in M04 & M05. It’s great that they have a listing of where the different dealers are, which should make it so much easier to find a particular one if you so desire. You can see the layout I posted below, where I’ve circled where we are. Just so yo can find us even easier! We will also be selling copies of my new book, Discover the Horror, so if you haven’t ordered your copy already, now is your chance to pick one up and I’ll even sign it for you, free of charge, of course! Of if you had already ordered your copy through Amazon, bring it along and I’ll be glad to sign it for you. Continue reading →

Mystery Photo 8-26

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Last week’s photo was from one of the best haunted house movies ever made, based on one of the best haunted house novels ever written! Or at least I think so. The movie was The Legend of Hell House (1973), which was based on the novel Hell House by Richard Matheson. It was also one of the first VHS tapes I rented when I bought my very first VCR. Kudos out to the following that sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Erik Martin, & William Wilson. Well done!

Let’s get on to this week’s photo before the day’s over. Take a look below and see what you can come up with. As always, please remember not to post your answers below so that others can have a chance at guessing. Just send your guess to us (at jon@kitleyskrypt.com). Good Luck!

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Movie Review: Abominable

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Abominable 3

Abominable (2006)
Directed by Ryan Schifrin
Starring Matt McCoy, Haley Joel, Christen Tinsley, Karin Anna Cheung, Tiffany Shepis, Jeffrey Combs, Natalie Compagno, Paul Gleason, Lance Henriksen, Rex Linn, Dee Wallace Stone

Matt McCoy stars as Preston, a rich guy who lost his wife, as well as the use of his legs, in a rock climbing accident several months before. Still having trouble dealing with what happened, his doctor has one of the male nurses taking him back to his mountain cabin to help him face his fears. Shortly after arriving, a group of young women arrive at the house next door for their own weekend getaway. Still dealing with the memories from the accident and not wanting to even be there, things get worse when he starts to notice something moving out in the woods. Granted, his asshole of a nurse refuses to listen to him because he’s been complaining since they got there. But then as Preston is watching from his window, he sees something come out of the woods and snatch up one of the girls right off her feet. Continue reading →

Midway’s Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest

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Midway sunset cropped

At the recent Flashback Weekend, they announced the date for this year’s Dusk to Dawn Horrorfest and 3 out of the 4 features they will be screening. And as always, it is one you are not going to want to miss.

Taking place on Saturday, Sept. 21st, they will be screening undoubtedly one of the scariest films ever made, The Exorcist (1973). I know the first time I watched this was on TV in the severely edited version and it still kept me awake at night. It is a film that still packs a punch and has not lost any of its effectiveness to creep into the audiences’ psyche. With great performances from Jason Miller, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Linda Blair, and of course, Ellen Burstyn, who gives a performance that I think is one of the reason this movie is so powerful, since we are living through her character. Not to mention the incredible makeup effects by Dick Smith (and his young assistant Rick Baker). Seeing this one the big screen will really be a religious experience! Continue reading →

Hung, Drawn and Executed

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Hung drawn and executedI’ve been a collector of horror movie posters for more years than I can remember, and have spent more money on them over the years that I want to remember! One of the great things about being a collector is that you start to learn more about not just the movies, but in case of the posters, you start to know who some of these artists were that created some of these incredible images. The real shame is that in the past, some of these talented people weren’t even allowed to sign their paintings, such as Reynold Brown, who created so many incredible poster art from the ’50s.

One of those current artists, Graham Humphreys, has released a book of his horror art, entitled Hung, Drawn and Executed: The Horror Art of Graham Humphreys. My first introduction to his work, without knowing it, was his fantastic piece for the British Quad for Evil Dead 2. Starting out in the collecting world, it was one that I always hope to acquire some day. Then you start to see other pieces of his talent, on not just posters but now on book covers and Blu-ray covers too! Humphreys work is unmistakable and is just incredible how he nails the likenesses of the characters. In fact, at this very moment, I have the recent quad artwork he did for the new Blu-ray release of James Whale’s Old Dark House hanging in my movie room, which you can see below. Once again, just incredible. But just take a second to google his work and I’m sure you’ll recognize quite a few of his pieces. Continue reading →

Mystery Photo 8-19

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This is a special Mystery Photo Monday because it happens to be my birthday! So with this week’s photo, I’m going to give you a little hint. Not only is it one of my favorite films, it is also the first movie I rented on VHS when I purchased my very first VCR. But before we get to the photo, let’s go over last week’s. It was from the Italian film The Spider Labyrinth (1988). A little slow at times but has a killer ending! Kudos to Aaron AuBuchon and Gavin Schmitt. Well done!

Okay, let us get to this week’s photo. Don’t wait too long to answer or you may end up like the guy in the photo. As always, please remember not to post your answers here so that others can have a guess. Just send your answer to us in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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WildClaw Theatre Delivers a Horror Western!

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Hell Followed with Her posterFor the last 12 years, WildClaw Theatre has been bringing horror to the stage. From the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Sheridan Le Fanu to the more modern day tales from Scott T. Barsotti and Paul Foster. Now they bring us something a little different from the horror genre, a western. Of course, it wouldn’t be WildClaw without throwing in something a little more terrifying, right? So come out to see their latest, a “bloody tale of the good, the bad, and the undying.”

Hell Followed with Her is the story of revenge. Willow Parker has been searching for man for two years with revenge in her heart and mind. Now she has finally tracked him down, but making this tale of revenge a little more difficult is the undead that has followed her.

Directed by WildClaw’s Artistic Director Josh Zagoren, and written by Bill Daniel, this new play starts on October 11th and runs through November 9th at The Den Theatre in Chicago. Tickets are on sale now (just click HERE). Starring Jyreika Guest, Ardarius Blakley, Krista D’Agostino, Kim Boler, Brittany Ellis, Gregory Madden, Ashley Yates, Sophia Rosado, Polley Cooney, Nora King, Savanna Rae and George Zerante.

Horror theater is something that all horror fans should experience. Live performances is incomparable to a movie because it is taking place right in front of you! And WildClaw has been giving Chicago the opportunity to witness this for a dozen years. So help them continue by supporting them and going out to see their latest production, Hell Followed with Her.

Encyclopedia of Hammer Films!

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Encyclopedia of Hammer FilmsLast year, McFarland published Howard Maxford’s massive volume on Hammer films, The Complete Hammer. Now comes another huge tome on the Studio that Dripped Blood, by author Chris Fellner, entitled The Encyclopedia of Hammer Films.

This 606 page book is a pricy one, retailing at $145 (though Amazon has it listed for $106.74), covers not only the films that made the studio famous, but it seems to go into much more detail about the productions the studio was involved with. From feature films, to featurettes, television, and much more. You’ll get production details, synopses, reviews, quotes,  and biographies. There is information on the people that worked both in front of and behind the camera, as well as things that Hammer had a connection to, such as the tax shelter companies to the British Board of Film Censors, as well as the many projects that Hammer never got off the ground.

We haven’t gotten our hands on this title yet so we’re just going on what we’ve read about it. Will it be worth the hefty price tag? I know at once point I’ll be trying to get a copy for myself, so we’ll have to see. But in the meantime, any book that comes out on Hammer, I’m going to be excited about. Titles like this help keep not only the movie titles alive and remembered, but also, more importantly, the people behind them that help create them for audiences to enjoy for decades to come.

Stay tuned for more details!

Horror History: James Carreras

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jamescarrerasJames Carreras
Born Jan. 30th 1910 – Died June 9th, 1990

James Carreras was the son of Enriqué Carreras, who along with William Hinds, would form the company that would later evolve into Hammer Films. First starting just as a distribution company, they figured instead of buying other films to distribute, they could make their own films and distribute them, cutting out the middle man. Then Hammer Films was born. James Carreras would be the head of that division until he retired.

The great thing about Carreras was that he knew little about the actual making of films. He left that up to the people who knew what they were doing. But he did how to sell the movies. In fact, he was known for selling a movie before a script was even written! They would come up with a title, create a poster, and sell the movie on that alone. Then it was up to the screenwriter to whip up a story and go from there. And it worked. A lot.

Carreras’ policy was about as simple as you could get: make films that are guaranteed to make a profit. In those days, with these smaller film companies, sometimes your financing on the next film would rest on how well your last one did at the box office. And this is something that Carreras seemed to excel at. He was always bringing in fresh female faces to appear in their newest films. Starting the trend that would become known as Hammer Glamour. Again, he knew what would sell.

He was the head of the company until 1971, when he gave control over to his son, Michael.