Movie Review: Clark Ashton Smith – Emperor of Dreams

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emperor of dreamsClark Ashton Smith: The Emperor of Dreams (2018)
Directed by Darin Coelho Spring
Featuring Donald Sidney-Fryer, Harlan Ellison, S.T. Joshi, Cody Goodfellow, Skinner

Clark Ashton Smith, one of the “Three Musketeers” of the legendary pulp magazine Weird Tales (with H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard) has sadly not received the popular attention that the creators of Cthulhu and Conan have benefited from. This new documentary hopefully will remedy that situation.

Smith lived from 1893 to 1961, primarily in the Gold Rush town of Auburn, CA. For about 50 years, he resided in a cabin there without electricity or running water. He never attended high school, but educated himself by devouring all of the books in the local library. He developed an incredible vocabulary and style that soon established him as a promising poet and the protégé of the “Keats of the West Coast,” George Sterling.

Lovecraft encountered Smith’s poetry and began a correspondence to state his admiration that blossomed into a lifelong friendship, all expressed through the mail, as the men unfortunately never met in person. The title of the documentary comes from the first line of Smith’s poem “The Hashish-Eater”, which Lovecraft praised in his Supernatural Horror in Literature. Continue reading →

A Century of Horrors

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Century of horror

The fine folks behind the We Belong Dead publication have unleashed their latest book and it looks like a doozey! We have all of their previous books and they are all amazing titles. Yes, they are a bit pricey to get them over here in the states, but with the limited quantities they produce, their value will definitely go up. Plus the fact that they are beautifully laid out and some very talented writers within the pages.

This new volume, over 500 full color pages, goes through the history of horrors, if you will, starting with the silent films and moving through the decades to the 1990s, with each chapter covering a particular decade. With an amazing cover by Graham Humphreys, and a forward by Sara Karloff, this is one that horror bibliophiles are going to want in their library.

The cost is £40 + £20 (which is going to be about $80 for us here in the states. But you can order your copy through their website HERE.

Mystery Photo 11-19

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Another late day, but still an updated photo. Wouldn’t want to disappoint anybody! Our last photo was from the entertaining British flick The Earth Dies Screaming (1964), directed by Terence Fisher. A short little film, but pretty damn fun. Check it out if you haven’t already. Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Dave Fronto, and Troy Howarth.

Now onto this week’s photo. This might be an obvious choice because of the time of year, but I figured I’d throw it out there anyway. If anything, maybe it will bring some much needed attention to this little gem! So take a peek and see what you come up with.

Please remember not to post your answers here, but send them to us in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Movie Review: Curse of the Crying Woman

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cryingwomanbanner

The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963)
Directed by Rafael Baledon
Starring Rosita Arenas, Abel Salazar, Rita Macedo, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Enrique Lucero, Mario Sevilla

Back in my early days of being a horror fan, I had a friend that asked me if I had seen any of the Mexican horror films from the late ’50s/early ’60s. At the time, not only had I not seen any of them, I wasn’t really even aware of them. When he offered to send me a couple of them, I told him not to, because I really didn’t want to get into yet another sub-genre of the horror genre! Silly me. Of course, this didn’t stop my friend and he sent me a couple of titles anyway. They were The Bloody Vampire aka El vampiro sangriento (1962), and The Curse of the Crying Woman aka La maldición de la Llorona (1963). After watching them, I was hooked. Growing up on the Universal classics, I had always loved the glorious black and white films, where the atmosphere is thick and heavy and I found that same style in these from South of the boarder! Continue reading →

Horror History: Les Baxter

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lesbaxterLes Baxter
Born March 14th, 1922 – Died January. 15th, 1996

Baxter was a composer that started in the film business in the early ’50s cranking out score after score in record time. In his career, he has score more than 120 films, with 15 titles in 1957 alone! He worked in many different genres, but for us horror fans, we remember him from his work that he did for AIP, especially the Roger Corman / Edgar Allan Poe films. He also re-scored a lot of foreign films that were being picked up and released here in the states, such as Mario Bava’s Black Sunday (1960) and Black Sabbath (1963), or even titles like Reptilicus (1961)

Baxter started his musical career at a very young age, learning the piano at the age of 5. In his early 20’s, he joined Mel Torme’s band, worked on radio shows including Bob Hope’s show, and even had a hit record in the 50’s.

But it is for his film scores that I learned of his name. Since these movies will always live on for fans like us, so will his music. Baxter always gave us something different and unique that always highlighted the film even more.

Studies on Joe Dante’s The Howling

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Howling BookCentipede Press has recently released a new volume in their Studies in the Horror Film series, this time taking a deep and dark look into Joe Dante’s The Howling. While it is one of Dante’s earlier films, it still remains one of his best known titles, for many good reasons. Now, thanks to Lee Gambin, you can read more about this film than you ever thought possible!

Over 350 pages, loaded with color photos and an new introduction by Dee Wallace, this book includes rare behind-the-scenes photos, most of which have never been published before. There are interviews with the likes of Dee Wallace, Belinda Balaski, Dick Miller, Don McLeod, John Hora, John Sayles, Robert Picardo, and others. And of course, Joe Dante.

But there is more! According to the blurb from Centipede Press, you will also get “the definitive story of the making of The Howling, complete with an insightful plot synopsis and complete critical analysis, behind the scenes information, and a slew of interviews with cast and crew. Rounding out the book are nearly 150 stills of the movie, ranging from individual frame enlargements to rare, never-before-published behind the scenes photographs.” What more could any Howling fan ask for???

The price is only $35 and can be ordered directly from the publisher. For all the information, just click HERE.

WildClaw Theatre’s Deathscribe Returns!

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Martian landscape with the highway to the mountainsChicago’s own WildClaw Theatre returns next month with Deathscribe: HELLeven! If you’re not familiar with what Deathscribe is, just picture reading a short little horror story. But instead of you reading it, it is sort of like if you were listening to it on the radio! With over 200 entries, WildClaw has narrowed it down to the final five finalists, and now will take their stories and turn them into radio plays, that are brought to life in front of the audience, with full sound effects with a live Foley on stage! We were at the very first Deathscribe and it was pretty incredible. Not only were the stories really good, but hearing them come alive on stage was even more incredible.

Here are the final five:

  • Floris by Ben Huffman & William Andrew Lewis, directed by Jose Nateras
  • The Forbidden Room by Nikkita Duke, directed by Jyreika Guest
  • Migraine by Skyler Schrempp, directed by Spenser Davis
  • Subject # 9 by Tim Griffin, directed by Elizabeth Lovelady
  • Whisper Trigger by Dan Finnen & Sarah Gise, directed by Tara Branham

This even takes place on Monday, December 3rd, at 8pm, at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. For all the details about the event, and to order your tickets, head over to the WildClaw Theatre’s page HERE. Hope to see you there!

 

Horror History: Bob Cobert

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bobcobertBob Cobert
Born Oct. 26th, 1924

If you were a fan of Dan Curtis and his early TV work, then you are well aware of the work of Bob Cobert, even if you don’t recognize the name. He is probably best known for working on the famous Curtis TV series Dark Shadows, that ran from 1967 to 1971. He also worked on the two feature films based on the series, House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971), as well as the 1991 revival. But he also did a ton of different made-for-TV shows in the early ’70s with Curtis. Titles like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968), The Night Stalker (1972), The Night Strangler (1973), The Norliss Tapes (1973), Scream of the Wolf (1974), Dracula (1974), Trilogy of Terror (1975), Burnt Offerings (1976), and so many more.

Working outside of the horror genre, he also composed the music for Curtis’ war epics The Winds of War (1983) and War and Remembrance (1988), as well creating his fair share of game show themes!

Cobert’s music had its own unique style that was recognizable, memorable, and always added to what we were watching on screen. Those films and shows would definitely had lost something without had it not been for his music.

Pre-Order for Screaming for Pleasure!

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Screaming for PleasureOur good friend and fellow horror fiend, Scott Bradley, is already to unleash his id onto the world, in his book Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy. How does that title not make you want to dig into this book? But why do you need to add this volume to your library? Simple. Because Scott has a strong voice and message about the genre and the things that lurk and linger around it.

Sure, my opinion might be a little bias because I’ve known Scott for a few years. It takes a lot to impress me, and within the first few minutes to chatting with Scott, I was more than impressed. And each time I listen to one of his podcasts on Hellbent for Horror (click HERE to get to the podcast page), I realize how much more I have to step up my own game!

Scott gives his listeners a very interesting take on different subjects. And now with this book, you’ll get the same in depth and interesting view on the many different elements and subjects of the genre.

So do yourself a favor, and pre-order your copy today. It is only $19.99, which is really less than the cost of a couple of magazines! Just click HERE to get to find out more information about where and how you can order it.

Mystery Photo 11-12

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I have to say that I’m rather disappointed in a few of you out there for not getting last week’s photo. You should be ashamed. It was from Paul Naschy’s Curse of the Devil (1973). But our good friend Hoby Abernathy did recognize it, after searching for a bit, but he still got it. So congrats out to him!

Maybe today’s photo will be a little easier. Maybe. Take a peek and see what comes to mind. Gotta love those old black and white films. At least I do! As always, please remember not to post your answers here so others can have a chance. Just send them to me in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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