Monsterpalooza – Part 5: Celebs and Goodbye!

We never bothered with going to the celebs that were signing outside in the hall, mainly because they were ones that have been convention regulars, plus the fact that I had no interests in paying for an autograph. But there were more than a few “famous” people wandering around the vendor room throughout the weekend. On Saturday, as Dawn, Scott, and me were wandering around, we were coming up to the Severin table and I see this hat from the back. I looked over at Scott and said, “That’s Richard Stanley! I can tell by the hat.” And I was right. In 1990, I was got to see Stanley’s first feature film, Hardware, in the theater. It was an incredible experience, filled with colors, images, and music, all intertwined together into this futuristic, post-apocalyptic tale of humanity, barely holding on. His second feature, Dust Devil (1992), was another visually stunning film. His latest film, Color Out of Space, is in post-production and I can’t wait to see it. Stanley is one of those directors that I had never met before, but always wanted to at least shake his hand and thank him for his work. And now, I got to do just that. Another one off my bucket list.

Richard Stanley

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Monsterpalooza – Part 4: The Vendors

blind dead bustSince this was our first West Coast show in close to two decades, I was hoping to see some vendors that we don’t normally see the usual shows that we go to. We definitely did, which is why I probably I spent so much money! But the Krypt is always needing some new little trinkets, right? Got to keep it fresh, right? Like this little Blind Dead bust? I mean, can you really have too many Blind Dead items? I didn’t think so either. Especially when it is a bust that was sculpted by Daniel Horne!

Sometimes after walking around any vendor room, you see plenty of cool stuff, but nothing really jumping out at you that is demanding that you take it home with you. Earlier in the weekend, we noticed that this guy had some old-fashioned looking hand puppets, but with characters you wouldn’t expect to be seeing, such as the little doll from Dario Argento’s Deep Red or Corbis from The Devil’s Rain! These were handmade and very cool, but with a price tag of $50, I really didn’t need one of those. Then walking by their table again on Sunday, either I missed it the first few times or they just put it out, but now they had a Mr. Sardonicus puppet out. Being a huge Castle fan, I just couldn’t pass it up and bought it. Check them out at www.skullclown.com. Just they don’t have a lot listed on their site so just email them and ask about their puppets. Or about all the other cool stuff they had out on their table. I know I’ll be looking for them again at the next show. Continue reading

Monsterpalooza – Part 3: Makeup

57191738_637200916740606_5886658171325382656_nYears ago, when the TV show Face Off premiered, Dawn and I started watching it but didn’t get past a few episodes because of the fake drama present in these “reality” shows. We just wanted to see the talent and the creative process, not some feud that was created by editing and pushed by the show. Same goes with the Skin Wars. If they would take all that crap out of there and just spotlight the talent, I’d be watching every week. Anyway…throughout the weekend, there were always someone getting put into makeup, usually pretty elaborate too, not just the makeup, but full costumes as well. Each day, these poor models would be sitting in the chair first thing in the morning to have this work done on them, some of it taking most of the day. Then they would parade around through the vendor room for a bit, only then to sit back down and have it all removed! And they did this each of the three days. Such troopers! But it gave fans attending something to stop and watch for a while, getting to watch some incredible talent on display.

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Mystery Photo 4-29

If it was already obvious, our last photo was a little shout out and tribute to Rondo Hatton, mainly because the annual Rondo Awards was just finishing up the voting last Sunday. And now (hopefully) tonight the results of the voting will be announced. Of course, we can talk about the Rondos without giving thanks to David Colton for keeping the Rondos going with all this hard work! As for the photo, it was from House of Horrors (1946), where Hatton appeared in his second to last film. Congrats to the following that sent in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Todd Barwick, Cate Cameron, Aaron Christensen, Rick Hayden, Troy Howarth, Erik Martin, Gavin Schmitt, Michael Shields, Todd Warren, Kristin Wicks and Greg Wojick.

Now this week’s photo is a tribute to someone else, but not that it ties in with anything other than he help mold my childhood. So take that as a hint, if you can. As always, please don’t post your answers here so others can have a chance at guessing. Instead, just send your guess to us in an email, to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Monsterpalooza – Part 2: Displays

monsterpalooza show

On Friday, we finally make our way over to Monsterpalooza. We were technically dealer “helpers” so we got in right away, and thankfully so because the line to get in was freaking huge each and every single day of the 3-day event. A little advice to those coming to this show, be prepared to be on your feet a LOT! With a concrete floor, it plays holy hell on your feet, legs, and back. At least I know it did for us. Plus, there’s not a ton of places to sit down either. Normally, as vendors, we get to sit behind our table more than wander around so it’s no big deal. But not being at a table, I really felt the effects of it by Friday night and really aching by the time Sunday was over. I think I need to take a vacation to recoup from this vacation!

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Monsterpalooza – Part 1: Screaming at Dark Delicacies

Monsterpalooza banner

The last time I was in California was in 2003, for a Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors, so it was about time I made a return. Our friends Don England and Chris Kuchta have been setting up at Monsterpalooza for a few years and I was always hearing great stories about the show, from celebrity sightings to just seeing some amazing makeup jobs, props, artworks, and other interesting things on display. So my wife Dawn and I decided to take a little mini-vacation and head out to our first Monsterpalooza. On the Thursday before the show, we were on a plane heading to the West Coast.

DarkDel1

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Book Review: The Creature Chronicles

creaturechroniclesThe Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy
Published by McFarland, 2014. 408 pages.
By Tom Weaver, David Schecter, & Steve Kronenberg

This should be a very simple review. If you want to know anything about Creature from the Black Lagoon, or its two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and/or The Creature Walks Among Us, then just buy this book. Just about anything and everything you need to know about those films is in this book. Tom Weaver, along with Schecter and Kronenberg, have researched and compiled so much information, from the cast and crew, premieres, design teams, press, music, down to all the screenwriters involved in them, all here in this book. It even has an introduction by Creature star Julia Adams.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors #42 Coming!

LSoH42Richard Klemensen has been putting out Little Shoppe of Horrors for 47 years. Let that sink in a minute. Close to a half a century. If that doesn’t show the passion this man has, for his love of Hammer Films, as well as other British horror films, to keep going this long I don’t know what else would. Not to mention that the information within the amazing artwork he always has for his front and back covers, is top-notch, filled with plenty of information and stories about these classic movies that we love. So why not continue to support these independent, old-fashion, print magazines, and help keep them alive, by ordering the newest issue of LSoH now!

What is in the new issue, you ask? Ever hear of Village of the Damned, starring George Sanders and Barbara Shelley? It’s one of the best of British horror cinema from that era and is the cover story of this new issue. With an amazing cover by Steve Karchin, you’ll get to learn all about the making of Village in the Anthony McKay’s essay. There is also an interview with Max Rosenberg, who was co-founders of Amicus Films, as well as part 1 of The Hammer Diaries of Christopher Wicking. Wicking wrote three films for Hammer and worked for them for almost three years, where he kept a diary when he was a Script Supervisor. So you’ll get to read all the insights of went on during the early ’70s as Hammer was struggling to stay afloat.

All this and all the usual great things that make this one of my favorite magazines and one that I pick up religiously. I’m still in the process of ordering all the back issues that came out before I started buying it with issue #8, back in…1984!!!

You can place your order now by heading over to their website HERE. Keep showing your support by ordering your copy now! Issue #42 will be shipping out May 6th.

Mystery Photo 4-22

Yes, we’re back once again for our Monday morning Mystery Photo. After attending two conventions in two weeks, it was pretty tiresome. Since we weren’t vending, that meant we were on our feet most of the time. Oof. Getting too old for that stuff. Anyway, the last photo we had was from the 1971 giallo L’iguana dalla lingua di fuoco, or better known in the states as The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Troy Howarth, Bryan Martinez, Lee Nattrass, & Gavin Schmitt. Well done!

Now here is this week’s photo. It might be pretty easy, but this is my little wink at what just ended yesterday, so I hope you’ll forgive my indulgence. But either way, easy or not, please make sure you do not post your answers here, so that others do have a chance. Just send your guess to us at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Book Review: The Lady from the Black Lagoon

Lady from the Black LagoonThe Lady from the Black Lagoon
Published by Hanover Square Press, 2019. 368 pages.
By Mallory O’Meara

As a horror historian (sounds such more impressive than horror fan, doesn’t it?), anytime some light can be shed on someone important in the genre, especially when that light was purposely taken away from them, then I’m all for it.

If you were to just go by the screen credits in those classic movies, you’d never know about some of the thousands of people that actually worked on them. This isn’t anything new either, since a LOT of people go without given due credit. That’s just the business. But when that business included someone taking credit for someone else’s work, even getting rid of said person because they were starting to get their deserved credit, then that that error needs to be fixed,  especially when we’re talking about the creation of one of the famous Universal Monsters. Helping do that is author Mallory O’Meara with this new book on Milicent Patrick, the woman who actually designed the Gill Man from Creature from the Black Lagoon.

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