Movie Review: The Black Sleep (1956)

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The Black Sleep (1956)
Directed by Reginald Le Borg
Starring Basil Rathbone, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Bela Lugosi,
Herbert Rudley, Patricia Blair, Phyllis Stanley, Tor Johnson

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Basil Rathbone stars as Dr. Joel Cadman, who is obsessed with discovering the mysteries of the human brain. His wife is in a coma due to a brain tumor, so he is determined to discover a way how to save her, even if this means through un-ethical experimental operations on live patients to find that cure. He saves a fellow doctor, Dr. Ramsey, from the gallows who was wrongly accused. He does this by use of a drug he found in India, which he calls the Black Sleep. Once taken, it makes the person appear to be dead, even to the prison’s doctor. Once another injection is given, the “dead” comes back to life. For this favor, Cadman wants the young doctor to assist him in his experiments.  But once Ramsey discovers that Cadman is experimenting on live subjects, he realizes he must find away to escape this madness.

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Horror History: Bill Thurman

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billthurmanBill Thurman
Born Nov. 4th, 1920 – Died Apr. 13th, 1995

While Thurman had appearances in notable films like Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) or Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show (1971), as well as Hollywood films like Places in the Heart (1984) and Silverado (1985), he really is more known to cult fans that love films that are more off the beaten path. Thurman appeared in films like Creature from Black Lake (1976), The Evictors (1979) and the cult title Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1986). But digging even deeper into the cult history, Thurman also appeared in over a dozen films of Texas filmmaker Larry Buchanan, most notably in titles as The Eye Creatures (1965), Curse of the Swamp Creature (1965), Zontar: The Thing from Venus (1966), Mars Needs Women (1967), and It’s Alive (1969).

Now the thing about Thurman that is memorable were his performances. Was he Oscar winning caliber? Not even close. But more importantly, he was always enjoyable to watch on screen. When I see his name in the title, I know that he is going to try his best and presenting a interesting character on screen, and usually does. Thurman is one of these actors that truly deserves to be remembered since most people are not even familiar with the movies that he’s in, let alone the actor himself. So the next time you’re watching a low budget film that might have been made in Texas, keep an eye out for this large man, most likely with southern drawl to his speech. Most likely, that will be Bill Thurman.

The 20-Year Anniversary Kryptic World Tour Kicks Off Friday!

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The waiting is almost over. This coming Friday will see the first stop in our 20-Year Anniversary Kryptic World Tour! That’s right, as I’ve may have mentioned once or twice before, this year marks my 20th year running the Krypt, so we hope to celebrate that even more at each and every show on this year’s tour. We have new T-shirts and even a couple of those enamel pins that everyone seems to be going crazy over, to help celebrate this milestone. And if you’re in the market for a new horror reference book, our inventory is bursting at the shelves, as we’ve been stockpiling over the winter and have some amazing titles for you to add to your own horror library! Some of the titles are in limited quantities (usually just one!) so make sure you hurry over to our table so you don’t lose out.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone’s support over the last two decades, both here online as well as at the conventions. I know there are some of you that have been following my little ramblings for quite some time, so thank you!

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Mystery Photo 3-19

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Yes, it is Monday, once again. But on the bright side, you have a new pictorial puzzle to ponder! Doesn’t that make it just a little bit better? Well…maybe if you recognize it…

Our photo from last week was from the underrated 1971 British film simply called Fright, starring Susan George, Honor Blackman, and Ian Bannen. A simple but well made little horror thriller. If you haven’t seen it, and like British films, then I would recommend checking it out. The ones that did recognize it were Hoby Abernathy, Craig Clark, Kuba Haczek, Troy Howarth, Ken Johnson, Sean Robinson, and Michael Shields. Well done, lads!

And without further babbling, here we are with this week’s photo. But first our usual warning. PLEASE do not post your answers here, so others can have a chance at guessing. Just send your guess to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Coscarelli’s Tales of Independent Filmmaking

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Coscarlli BiographyDon Coscarelli. The man that created an amazing cinema legacy with his Phantasm series, not to mention a few other incredible cinematic journeys he’s taken us on, and usually outside of the Hollywood system. I can’t even fathom how hard that must be, and to do for it for over 40 years.

But now he is coming out with a book called True Indie: Life and Death in Film Making, being published this October by St. Martin’s Press. The 320 page book will be filled with tons of behind-the-scenes stories from over the years from his different films, such as “like setting his face on fire during the making of Phantasm, hearing Bruce Campbell’s most important question before agreeing to star in Bubba Ho-Tep, and turning Phantasm into a franchise phenomenon.”

While the book will be filled with some crazy stories, it will also “serve as a crash course on the indie film world”, one that Coscarelli is more than experienced in. That is the one of the many things that I’ve always admired about Coscarelli, that he never sold the Phantasm off to some major studio, but decided to keep it so he could have control over it. Lot of kudos to him for that.

So make sure you add this book to your Amazon Wish List, or wherever you get your books, because I’m sure this one is going to be a great read.

Book Review: Monster Squad

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Monster Squad BookMonster Squad: Celebrating the Artists Behind Cinema’s Most memorable Creatures
Published by BearManor Media, 2017. 430 pages.
By Heather A. Wixson

In the early ’80s, makeup artists that worked on horror movies were becoming real celebrities, just as if they were the main stars of the films they worked on. Seeing names like Savini, Baker, or Bottin in the credits would get fans to go see a film on their participation alone. So many young fans out there were so inspired by these names, that they dabbled on their own with latex, spirit gum, and greasepaint, some more successful than others. Like a lot of us fans during that time, the movies affected us more than most people watching them. Some wanted to be part of the world that were creating this magic. That passion is what drove them to never stop trying, never stop learning, and just never stopping. That era when rubber monsters and outrageous creatures ruled the genre is over three decades ago, with quite a bit being replaced with CGI. But that hasn’t stopped some of these guys from continuing with their craft, still fueled by that same passion to create magic on the screen.

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Mystery Photo 3-12

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Holy crap…almost forgot to post this week’s photo! Been a crazy day, but that’s no excuse! Our last photo was from the 2001 Lovecraft-based film from Stuart Gordon, Dagon! Been a while since I’ve seen it but I remember enjoying the hell out of it. Besides, seeing the lovely Macarena Gómez in one of her first movie roles is worth the time right there! Kudos to the following for sending in the correct answer: Hoby Abernathy, Aaron Christensen, Craig Clark, Kuba Haczek, Troy Howarth, Ken Johnson, Lori Ann Kuchta, Leon Marcelo, Phil Meenan, Kristin Wicks, William Wilson, and Greg Wojick. Nice to see so many names!

Okay, before the day’s over, let us get to this week’s photo. It is from another favorite of mine. Just look at how this frame is shot! Just brilliant! As always, PLEASE remember not to post your answers here but instead send them in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good Luck!

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Movie Review: The Devil Incarnate

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El Caminante (1979)
Directed by Paul Naschy
Starring Paul Naschy, David Rocha, Sara Lezana, Ana Harpo, Blanca Estrada, Silvia Aguilar

El CaminanteRecently released on Blu-ray from Mondo Macabre under the title The Devil Incarnate, this is noted as being one of the writer/director’s favorite films. But for those expecting the usual horror outing from Naschy, with vampires and werewolves, you might be a little disappointed. If you’re looking for a very unusual horror/comedy, one that had a very deep and personal meaning to the writer/director, then you might find yourself very intrigued by it. While I really did enjoy it, I sort of felt sad that its creator was ever in that dark of a period in his life, of not trusting many people in the business around him.

In his autobiography, Memoirs of a Wolfman, he stated “I wrote El Caminante in a very special frame of mind. Life had dealt me several harsh blows and I had gained a pretty negative impression of people. For me personally, friendships had been a lamentable disappointment. I knew all about betrayal and lack of loyalty and apart from my family – my parents, my wife and two sons – I didn’t believe there were many things worthwhile in this filthy rotten world. Later on three people appeared in my life who I consider true friends. However, the cry of anguish from the bottom of my soul which found expression through this movie is still valid today.” This film was made almost 40 years ago, and like Naschy wrote in his book over 20 years ago, the way society is still today, this message still rings true. Which again, is a pretty sad statement.

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Book Review: The Thrill of Repulsion

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Thrill of RepulsionThe Thrill of Repulsion: Excursions into Horror Culture
Published by Schiffer Publishing LTD, 2016. 280 pages.
By William Burns

When I picked up this book from ebay, from the title I figured it would be another nice addition to my Psycho-Babble section in my library. But once I got it and started to browse through it, I was completely surprised at what this volume actually is about. What seemed to be moments later, I realized I had already read the first couple of chapters!

This tome is a couple of different kinds of books. The first part, which is on films, is what got my attention right away, is the lists. After a brief introduction, we get several chapters of the Top 13 lists, such as The 13 Most Disturbing Films That Aren’t Horror Movies, or The 13 Most Deranged Horror Director Debuts, or even The 13 Most Phantasmagorical Fantastique Films. In each of these chapters, the author lists the top 13 in that particular category that he feels are important and discusses them a bit. Now like with any list, there might be some arguments or discussions with the ones that Burns has come up with, but that is really what these kind of lists are for. But the other part is that possibly for more of novice fan, it gives you a little checklist to make sure you check the recommendations. Even more experienced fans might find a title or two they need to check out. I know I did. Even if you don’t agree with the titles mentioned in the lists, the author felt they were pretty important so they should be at least worth checking them out if you haven’t already. These little lists are a great way to add some titles to your “Need to Watch” list.

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Movie Review: Scalpel (1977)

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Scalpel coverScalpel (1977)
Directed by John Grissmer
Starring Robert Lansing, Judith Chapman, Arlen Dean Snyder, David Scarroll

Nothing like the ’70s to have a movie with some creepy father lusting after his daughter! And Robert Lansing does a stellar job in the role too! Not sure if that’s a compliment or not.

Lansing stars as a plastic surgeon who has a daughter that has been missing for over a year. She just took off and nobody seems to know where she went. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she witnessed him killer her boyfriend after he was watching them have a little sexual romp. So right off the bat, we see how seedy this guy is. After his father-in-law dies, leaving his estate to the missing daughter, he comes up with a plan, right after coming across a stripper who’d been beaten beyond recognition. Good thing he’s a plastic surgeon, huh? After a skillful operation, he has changed the face of this poor girl to look just like his daughter. Of course, when the real daughter shows up, things get even more weird.

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